The Road to Paradise: A Vintage National Parks Novel by Karen Barnett

What a delightful read in this first book in Barnett’s Vintage National Park series. The Road to Paradise is full of history,  adventure and romance in a beautiful setting of Mt. Rainier National Park. The writing is exceptional and the characters are believable. You could visualize yourself climbing the snow covered mountain and feeling the raw cold that the characters were feeling. Experiencing the raw beauty of  Nature’s undeveloped  woodlands. Karen Barnett has a sure winner in this first book  about National Parks. I was gifted this book to read and review and was honored to do so.                                                                                                                                                  

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Dark Deception (Defenders of Justice) by Nancy Mehl

Book two in the Defenders of Justice does not disappoint in any way. An intense and gripping novel that will keep you holding on to the edge of your seat. It has all the elements of a good read.  Mystery, intrigue, suspense, danger and romance. When you think you know who is “who” it takes another turn and here we go again. Of course it is all in Nancy Mehl style, she is the Expert on writing of mysteries. Also with christian principals in the writing. What a great book………I feel honored to read and review this book.                                                                                               

The Farmers’ Market Mishap: A Sequel to The Lopsided Christmas Cake by Wanda E. Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter

“The Farmer’s Market Mishap” is the sequel to “The Lopsided Christmas Cake” by Wanda E. Brunstetter and Jean Brunstetter.  Elma’s story – her hopes of getting married but thinking that it would never happen, her work in the general store, the twin sisters inherited from their grandparents, her relationship with her sister who is expecting her first child.  Elma meets Ben and feels something very special for him, but feels she could never leave her twin.  Ben begins to fall in love with Elma but wonders if it will work because of the distance between them.  Eventually all is worked out for a happy ending. I do wish the characters, situations and plot would have been more developed……..I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under no obligation to post a review.                                                                                                                                                                                         

My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains: by Susan Page Davis

My Heart Belongs in the Superstition Mountains by Susan Page Davis. This is about a young lady named Carmela, whose parents died when she was 12 years old and is now under the care of a rather immoral uncle who makes money having Carmela give speeches about being kidnapped by a savage Indian tribe, which is a lie, and has gone so far as to fake tattoo Carmela’s face with tribal markings. Now a grown lady she wishes she could escape from this life she is living. She feels badly telling the lies night after night in different towns. . When the stagecoach they’re travelling on is attacked by outlaws, Carmela gets separated from her uncle Silas and finds herself in the care of a deputy who also along with his prisoner was on the stage. They are abandoned in the desert with no food or water.  What ensues is an interesting read of how she is delivered from this way of life she hated and found love from someone who looked beyond the markings on her face to the real woman inside.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Barbour Publishing and was under  no obligation to post a review.                                                                                                                                                                                            

Behind the Scenes (Apart From the Crowd Book #1) byJen Turano

This is my first book to read by Jen Turano and I must say it was quite different.  She writes in a witty and sometimes funny and sometimes too much style.  Although there is mystery and danger with a hint of romance, this was too wordy and the describing of characters and events was told in an unusual way in the telling.
I was provided a review copy of this book by the publisher with no expectation of a positive review. All expressed opinions are my own.

Weaver’s Needle by Robin Caroll

I love a good mystery and Robin Caroll has supplied this in Weaver’s Needle. What’s better than a lost treasure and an ancient treasure map? …..Landry Parker and Nickolai Baptiste are recovery experts that are hired by a wealthy widow to recover a treasure map that was taken when her husband was murdered. The first person to find the map will receive fifty thousand dollars. As they each began searching for clues to the treasure, they find there is someone else after the treasure and they are willing to kill for it. Their search takes them from New Orleans to Weaver’s Needle in Arizona to the sacred grounds of Native Americans.   As the danger increases they begin to join together for safety and also to compare clues for their search.  A hint of romance, danger, suspense and intrigue makes for a good read…………

Love’s Winter Hope: Historical Christian Romance (Eagle Harbor) (Volume 5) by Naomi Rawlings

This is a story of love and forgiveness, showing if we trust god and forgive He can restore a love that was lost…..Love’s Winter Hope takes place in Eagle Harbor during the winter time, a very cold cruel winter. Jessalyn’s husband, Thomas, left 5 years ago to get a better paying job to support his wife and two daughters. She has heard nothing from him in all this time, so surely he must be dead. One night during a severe blizzard, a ship wrecks and among the rescued is Thomas.  Jessalynn cannot believe her eyes, is it really Thomas, then that means for the last 5 years that she has suffered to provide for her daughters with no help from him, he had deserted them. Needless to say she is not happy to see him.  Thomas is unprepared for the sight of his wife with not 2 but 3 daughters.  The wife he is so excited to see is not happy to see him, why? Also why did she never acknowledge his letters and the money he sent faithfully these 5 years?  So much to be resolved between them.  Can they reclaim the love they once shared? There is much suspense, tragedy and obstacles that makes for a most interesting read that you will enjoy immensely…….I was gifted this copy, but was under no obligation to provide a review.                                                                                                                                                                   

You’ll Think of Me by Robin Lee Hatcher

BROOKLYN MYERS HAS HAD AN UNHAPPY CHILDHOOD, HER MOTHER LEFT WHEN SHE WAS JUST A CHILD. HER DAD IS BITTER AND UNLOVING. SHE FEELS SHE DOES NOT FIT IN ANYWHERE, SO SHE ELOPES AT SEVENTEEN WITH THE ONE PERSON WHOM SHE FEELS LOVES HER. CHAD HALLSTON WANTED THE PRETTY GIRL AND FUN TIMES. WHEN BROOKLYN BECOMES PREGNANT, HE DESERTS HER. SHE IS LEFT ALONE TO RAISE HER DAUGHTER, ALYCIA.  SHE IS DETERMINED THAT HER DAUGHTER WILL NEVER KNOW THE REJECTION FROM MEN THAT SHE HAS KNOWN.                                                                                      THEN EIGHT YEARS LATER, SHE RECEIVES A LETTER SAYING  CHAD IS DEAD AND HAS LEFT HIS FAMILY HOME IN THUNDER CREEK TO HIS DAUGHTER.  BROOKLYN REMEMBERS THE TWO STORY HOME AS A LOVELY PLACE WHERE SHE RECEIVED KINDNESS FROM HIS PARENTS. AFTER MUCH PRAYER SHE RETURNS TO THUNDER CREEK AND TO FIND THAT THE NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR IS CHAD’S BEST FRIEND, DEREK  JOHNSON.    DEREK  ALWAYS RESENTED THAT CHAD AND SHE ELOPED, SO HE STILL DISTRUSTS BROOKLYN. WILL BROOKLYN EVER LEARN TO TRUST AND LOVE AGAIN? CAN SHE TRUST ANYONE WITH HER DAUGHTER?  HATCHER HAS WRITTEN A VERY GOOD READ, THAT WILL KEEP YOU TURNING PAGES. THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE CHANCE TO READ AND REVIEW……………                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Treasured Grace (Heart of the Frontier Book #1) by Tracie Peterson

I love reading about the early history of America, especially any thing about the Oregon Trail. This story centers around the Whitman Mission massacre,  a well-known piece of history that forever changed the western frontier. There is blame to be placed on both the Indian and the white man.  So much harm and killing and torture of the innocent because of misunderstanding and difference in cultures.   Grace Martindale,  married the Right Reverend T. S. Martindale  so she and her two younger sisters could move west on the Oregon Trail. She hopes to meet up with her uncle in Oregon City and live there with her sisters. They agree to keep the marriage one of convenience over one filled with love.  They just didn’t expect the Reverend to die along the way and leave Grace a widow. Now with no money to really begin a life, all she has is her talents as a natural healer and in a hostile world faced with increasing Indian threat at the Whitman Mission, the place where Martindale girl’s are slated to stay for now. ….Then the Massacre by the Cayuse Indians.  All the men are killed and the rest taken as slaves and worse. Alex Armistead, a local trapper, with problems from his past, is taken with Grace and cannot forget about her although he tries.  After the  army moves the remaining women and children to the fort, he helps her and her sisters to travel to Oregon City to reunite with her uncle. This is a very moving and heartfelt story,  with christian principals and a happy ending………..I received a complimentary book from Baker Publishers in exchange for my honest review.                                                                                                                                                                              

Deep Extraction (FBI Task Force Book 2) by DiAnn Mills

DiAnn Mills is a great writer and this book is no exception. It will hold your interest until the final page is turned.  A wealthy oil magnate dies suddenly from a massive heart attack. He has a pacemaker, but apparently it malfunctioned…..or was it murder?  On closer examination, it was discovered that the pacemaker was remotely controlled by someone who wanted to kill Nathan Moore…but who and why?  Suspicion of course is on the wife, or possibly the teen age son who shows great hostility toward his dad.   FBI agent Tori Templeton is a close friend of the family, she and her partner are called in to investigate the murder.  Marshall Cole Jeffers is also a friend of the Moore family, joins the team to unravel the mystery….. So much comes to the surface….wife Sally, is the prime suspect, as they find out  he asked for a divorce the night before and also hired extra security guards to guard the family….did he have a mistress? Was he planning on leaving the country as it is discovered he had made flight plans?  Who was this man, seems no one really knew the true Nathan Moore……There are also other murders as this one is being investigated…….why innocent killings? How does all this tie into Nathan Moore’s murder?                                                                                                                                                           If you enjoy murder, suspense and intrigue with a dash of romance, you will absolutely love this book. Mills has done it again, can’t wait for the next one to be published.