Thursday, July 25, 2024

To Steal a Heart by Jen Turano (Review)

Series: The Bleecker Street Inquiry Agency #1
Genre: Historical Fiction 
Publisher: Bethany House 
Released: November 1, 2020
361 pages
About the Book:

After spending her childhood as a street thief, Gabriella Goodhue thought she'd put her past behind her until a fellow resident at her boardinghouse is unjustly accused of theft. Using her old skills to prove her friend's innocence, Gabriella unexpectedly encounters Nicholas Quinn, the man she once considered her best friend—until he abandoned her.

After being taken under the wing of a professor who introduced him into society and named him as his heir, Nicholas is living far removed from his childhood life of crime. As a favor to a friend, Nicholas agreed to help clear the name of an innocent woman, never imagining he'd be reunited with the girl he thought lost to him forever.

As Gabriella and Nicholas are thrown together into one intrigue after another, their childhood affection grows into more, but their newfound feelings are tested when truths about their past are revealed and danger follows their every step.


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐


While I liked the main characters of Gabriella and Nicholas it was the supporting characters, in particular Daphne, Gus, Philip and Eunice; that I really enjoyed. Each one added their own element to the story and had me laughing at times. Gabriella and Nicholas reconnect after many years in an unusual situation and it had me questioning what their motives were. They are now seen as being in two different standings within society than they once were and I enjoyed how they didn't let that stop them from being friends and doing what was right. One stands up for what they believe is right even if it will affect their status. I enjoyed following them trying to solve the various cases and figuring out their friendship and discovering feelings for one another. I felt for the characters when they learned things about their background that they did not know and wasn't pleasant. I was impressed with the way handled the news and how they responded. One of the characters in particular struggled with feelings that God had abandoned them but discovered that God was providing for them all along. This story kept me hooked and wanting to know how it was going to turn out. Knowing this is the first book in a series I kept trying to match characters up and guessing which characters may get together in future books... lol. I'm looking forward reading the next books and spending more times with all these characters.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Shattered Rose by Tammy L. Gray (Review)

Series: Windsor #1
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Publisher: CreateSpace
Released: January 7, 2014
416 pages

About the Book:

When obsession and love blend, and darkness consumes the mind and spirit, is it even possible to recognize the light? Set in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, nineteen-year-old Avery Nichols embarks on a journey of love, loss and recognition that perfection is often an illusion. She gives all she has to the one man who cannot love her back, but still refuses let her go. Now another fights to give her everything she doesn’t believe she deserves. It is the beginning of her sophomore year at Winsor University, and Avery is determined that nothing will stop her momentum, not even the internal battle she has fought for four years. Forced to live on campus because of her alumni scholarship, Avery is thrilled when she is placed in the coveted University Apartments and is swept away by her roommate’s cousin, Jake, whose charm and charisma touches every part of her soul and shatters every piece of her heart. Broken and lost, Avery meets Parker, a man who not only offers her hope, but also teaches her to love in ways she never thought possible. Jake is complicated and damaged, fighting to find his way after the loss of his mother, and despite his every attempt to stop it, Avery gets behind his defenses and forces him to feel once again. He doesn’t want to love her, but can’t let her go. Parker is genuine, honest, and falls for Avery the moment he sees her. He wants nothing more than to love her, if she would only let him.
  

My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐

I struggled with this book, it's marketed as a YA book, so I am not its target audience but majority of the characters annoyed me. There were some really selfish people who treated others like garbage. The characters are in college and there is a lot of partying, drinking and kissing, touching and more that happens. The main character Avery struggles a eating disorder, is uncomfortable with her appearance and lacks self-confidence however agrees to go out to a bar with her roommate minutes after meeting her. She connects with a guy and things go well at first, but then he does something that made me so mad and while Avery is mad at him for a while, he is able to keep drawing her back to him even though she has since met a much better guy. Avery waffles between the two guys and continues to make the same bad decisions over and over again, it got really frustrating. I got very frustrated with a couple characters saying they want to avoid certain things however they continually would put themselves in bad and tempting situations. This book was too long for what was it. Each chapter opens with someone praying for Avery, but other than that there was very little faith in God mentioned. There is a lot of physical interactions between characters (no described open door scenes), but I felt like the making out scenes went to far. It did wrap up nicely and provided a positive future for Avery.

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Sunday, July 21, 2024

Protecting Tanner Hollow by Lynette Eason (Review)

Genre: Romantic Suspense
Publisher: Revell 
Released: November 5, 2019
355 pages
About the Book:

Four nail-biting novellas in one!

Lethal Homecoming
Nolan Tanner never got over Kallie Ainsworth's sudden, unexplained departure. Now when he comes to her rescue after an attempt on her life, all the old feelings come rushing back.

Lethal Conspiracy
When professional fundraiser Lillian Maloney sees her father's campaign manager commit murder, she goes on the run from the men he hires to kill her. A close call brings firefighter Jason Tanner to the rescue, but the killer is closing in . . .

Lethal Secrets
Someone wants Honor McBride dead. When Eli Murphy helps her change a flat tire and discovers the danger Honor is in, he longs to help--but Eli has secrets of his own that could get them all killed.

Lethal Agenda
When Detective Derek St. John rescues a woman he's met only once before--and has never been able to forget--he finds himself falling for her. But he'll have to keep Claire Montgomery alive if they're to have a future together.


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a compilation of four novellas. I enjoyed the main characters from each story but wish they had been longer. Stories were faced paced and too short. Because of the length, there were some aspects that felt too convenient. I did really enjoy how the character of Nolan was active in each of the stories, and we got little updates on his relationship the first story. I loved that the last story featured Derek St. John and included a scene with the St. John family from Ms. Eason's Blue Justice series. I love it when characters appear that we've met before. 

(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Monday, July 15, 2024

Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham (Review)

Series: Skymar #3
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
Released: May 14, 2024
358 pages
About the Book:

Dear Reader,

My name is Luke Edgewood, and there are few things in life that I require. Mainly black coffee. And flannel. And lots of solitude. And my dogs, Chewy and Indie. What I don’t need is romance, so I have no plans to change my thirty-year-old bachelor status anytime soon.

But my youngest sister thinks that by accepting a short-term construction job in the small European country of Skymar, I’m going to follow along in her footsteps and discover my own romantic adventure. Nope. Bah humbug. The End. This time, her rom-com-movie senses are totally wrong.

Or maybe not. Because I’ve met a Grace Kelly look-alike who is annoying . . . until she isn’t. But she is impossible. As in, nothing can happen between us because she is a literal princess. Even though that’s easy to forget when we’re working together to restore a castle-like orphanage in a secluded mountain town and “forced proximity” includes a small closet, a secret one-hundred-year-old journal, and the tactile memory of an off-limits royal in my arms.

Basically, the whole situation has turned into an ooey gooey magical snow globe of romantic tropes complete with cute kids and an actual ball. Now, even my sentences are starting to sound like mush. Ugh. Send high levels of testosterone my way—I’m going to need it.

Loyally,

Luke


My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐


3.5 rounded up to 4.

While I really enjoyed the character of Luke, seeing a romance develop and his interactions with his sisters, the hallmark references and the fact that all the movie troupes were included became too much after a while. This felt like it could have been a Hallmark movie itself and not being a fan of those myself it had just a bit too much cheesiness for me. If it had incorporated less of the movielike troupes I think I would have enjoyed this more. Once Princess Diaries 2 was referenced that was all I could picture this relationship as. I connected with Luke but felt like I didn't get to know the character of Ellie that much. It felt like she was an only child at times, but it was referenced that she had siblings. I did enjoy her text conversations with her friend, but wondered why they didn't interact in person. I realize this is fiction but the ending left me wondering how practical the conclusion would be in a few years down the road. I did laugh a lot throughout and enjoyed the faith elements that were included.

(I received a copy of this book from a friend; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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Sunday, July 14, 2024

True Light by Terri Blackstock (Review)

Series: Restoration #3
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Zondervan 
Released: January 1, 2007
272 pages
About the Book:

Book 3 in a masterful what-if series in which global catastrophe puts a family’s very survival at risk—and both reveals the darkness in human hearts and lights the way to restoration. Now eight months into a global blackout, the residents of Oak Hollow are trying to cope with the deep winter nights and a gnawing hunger from a food shortage. The struggle to survive can bring out the worst in anyone. A teenage friend of the Brannings’ has been found shot while hunting, and his slain deer is gone. Suspicions immediately fall on Mark Green, the son of a convicted murderer. Before he can prove his innocence, vigilantes force the sheriff to arrest him. Deni Branning is growing closer to Mark, and she sees him as a hero, not a traitor. She and her family set out to find the person who really pulled the trigger. But clearing Mark’s reputation is only part of the battle. Protecting him from the neighbors who ostracized him is just as difficult.





My Rating & Thoughts:    ⭐⭐⭐⭐


Mark has to be my favourite character in this series. He has been ostracized by most of the community due to his father's actions but he still helps those around him by sharing his knowledge and hunting skills. There is quite a bit of evil happening in the community and the descriptions were very vivid at times. A teen is shot for his deer and Mark is framed. Mark goes through a lot physically and emotionally in this book, but he keeps his faith in God and shows forgiveness to those around him. He never gave up for fighting for what was right and protecting those around him. Deni has grown since book one, I like the changes in her and the choices she makes in this book. I am fully invested in this story and can't wait to read book 4 to see what happens when the power is finally restored (I'm assuming it will be).


(I purchased my copy of this book; opinions expressed 
in this review are my honest opinion and completely my own.)

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