Carol Moncado

Regina Beswick was born to be a princess. But she’s content to be a small-town girl, running a classic auto restoration shop, unaware a secret destiny awaits her. One that will leap from the pages of her grandmother’s hand-painted book of fairytales.

Tanner Burkhardt is the stoic Minister of Culture for the Grand Duchy of Hessenberg. When he is tasked to retrieve the long-lost princess, he must overcome his fear of failure in order to secure his nation’s future—and his own. Yet lurking in the political shadows is a fierce opponent with sinister plans to abolish the throne forever.

Overwhelmed with opposition, Regina must decide if she’s destined to restore old cars or an ancient nation. Together—with a little divine intervention—Regina and Tanner discover the truth of her heritage and the healing power of true love.

 

 

 

Ms. Hauck captured us with the story of Nathaniel and his princess in Once Upon a Prince. King Nathaniel struggled with how to deal with the semi-independent Duchy of Hessenberg, until near the end when a descendant was discovered.

Princess Ever After is the story of that princess. Regina is happy with her life, though she’s afraid her “when I have no one else to go with” date is about to propose and she doesn’t love him – not like that. She’s loving her car restoration company and has no desire to go back to the corporate life. She loves being her own boss and working with her wacky crew.

Along comes Tanner, upsetting her not-so-perfectly ordered world. He wants to sweep her away to become princess of her own country, the country her grandmother fled as a youth. Portions of her grandmother’s diary in the last days of Hessenberg being it’s own entity are used to fill in the blanks for the reader as Regina learns of her grandmother’s story.

As Regina learns her family history, Tanner is coping with secrets of his own. He’s falling in love with Regina, but his past returns to haunt him.

What decision will Regina make? Will she be able to overcome the opposition forces mounting against her from within her new country? But is there a place for her back home?

And how will Tanner’s secrets affect her feelings for him?

All in all, another solid offering from a solid writer. I’m looking forward to book 3 and look for the review of A March Bride, a novella featuring King Nathaniel and Susanna in the weeks leading up to their wedding, coming soon.

Overall rating: 8.75 out of 10 stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Elizabeth Harding arrives in Cheyenne, Wyoming, to establish her medical practice thanks to the wooing of her two older sisters who extolled the beauty of the land. She’s certain she’ll have a line of patients eager for her expertise and gentle bedside manner. However, she soon discovers the town and its older doctor may not welcome a new physician. Even more frustrating, the handsome young attorney next door may not be ready for the idea of a woman doctor. For his part, Jason Nordling has nothing against women, but he’s promised himself that the woman he marries will be a full-time mother.

Despite their firm principles, Elizabeth and Jason find that mutual attraction–and disdain from the community–is drawing them ever closer. And when the two find themselves working to save the life and tattered reputation of a local woman, they’ll have to decide how far they’re willing to go to find justice–and true love.

 

 

As with the first two books, Ms. Cabot does an excellent job of transporting us back in time to the late 1800s and not-as-wild-as-it-used-to-be-but-not-quite-civilized Wyoming.

Elizabeth is a doctor, having completed all of her schooling, proving time and again that she was just as good – and probably better – than the men in her school. Now that she’s hung out her shingle, she hopes to have patients. Not too many at first, of course, but enough to pay her rent. When it comes right down to it, though, she knows doing the right thing is more important than what the gossipy types think. There’s no time for a beau.

Jason is a moderately successful lawyer. He’s paying his bills, though he’s certainly not rich. After a difficult case, he feels his reputation needs to be salvaged. He likes Elizabeth but doesn’t think she’ll be successful – and she certainly isn’t what he wants in the woman he’ll eventually marry and be the mother of his children.

So the attraction they both feel gets put on the back burner until…

Well, that’s where picking up the book comes in ;).

Overall rating: 8.25 out of 10 stars

Thanks to the author and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my review.

Spunky Allison McClare is determined to be a fearless, independent woman, resorting to a mammoth hat pin for protection on her way to and from the school where she teaches. But when she takes a notion to explore the wild Barbary Coast she quickly discovers she is no match for rum-soaked brute strength. 

Detective Nick Barone would rather do almost anything than teach this petite socialite jiu-jitsu, but it seems he has little choice in the matter. Sparks fly every time the two meet until a grudging friendship develops into something deeper. But when Nick suddenly leaves town, Allison realizes he’s a fraud just like all the rest of the men she’s cared for. Does she dare love again?

The lushness of the glorious Gilded Age beautifully showcases Lessman’s passion as a writer in this engaging love story written with humor and heart. From the glamour of San Francisco’s Nob Hill to the seedy gambling dens of the Barbary Coast, Dare to Love Again is a journey to find a love that never fails. Fans will love revisiting the world of the cousins McClare, and new readers will seek more of Julie’s passion-filled novels.

It’s no secret to anyone who knows me that I adore Julie Lessman – both her books and Julie personally. I’ve been watching for this book since the last one came out and when the Revell Reads email popped up in my inbox, I jumped on it!

Filled with Julie’s trademark humor, smooches, and hunky heroes [both Nick and Jamie from last time and a couple others who may or may not be the hero of book 3 – or perhaps competing for the heroine’s hand???]. I loved the secondary story of Logan and Caitlyn and look forward to its resolution in book 3.

Alli McClare is spunky and spirited and I loved her from the very first page. Nick Barone [that’s with a long e sound, by the way ;)] could be surly and cantankerous with those who didn’t know him well or those who were on his bad side. But underneath beats the heart of a teddy bear. Alli doesn’t see this for a while and the two are sniping at each other from the very beginning.

As much as I loved this, I don’t think it was Julie’s best. Perhaps because it’s a bit shorter than her first two series*? I’m not really sure, but several times there are jumps in time – of several weeks, during which time the relationship between Alli and Nick softened or progressed. While Julie did a great job of setting it up so it’s plausible that the relationship has improved when we come back two or three weeks later, but I would have loved to see some more of that development.

There was one thread that I felt was dropped, and I won’t spoil it but has to do with Nick and Uncle Logan’s animosity. It’s possible this thread will continue through to book three so while I’ll ask Julie about it most likely, it’s also possible the resolution is still coming.

A couple other things kind of bugged me which leads to a bit lower rating than I would have expected, but those are personal pet peeve annoyances and not anything to do with the quality of the plot or Julie’s writing.

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

*What is the plural of series anyway? Serieses? Seri?

Special thanks to Revell Reads for a copy of the book in exchange for my unbiased review.

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Here’s my 2013 book list… It’s not complete. I didn’t keep up with it. I read a bunch of books I didn’t review [and therefore didn’t record]… But on this list is… 83 books. Which means I probably read at least 100. I know I read Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer twice… ;). I also read a bunch of manuscripts for friends that aren’t on this list – like Kristy Cambron’s upcoming release and one by Laurie Tomlinson, off the top of my head. I know there were others.

The Vast Majority of them were reviewed on the blog, but yeah, no links here. This year… one of my resolves is to do better…

2013:
January

1. Love Finds You in Glacier Bay, Alaska by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss (8.5 stars)
2. Lily’s Plight by Sally Laity and Dianna Crawford (8 stars)
3. Home for Good by Jessica Keller (8.25 stars – posting 1/23)
4. Claiming Mariah by Pam Hillman (9.5 stars – posting 1/22)
5. Swept Away by Mary Connealy
6. Safe in His Arms by Colleen Coble (9.25 stars)
7. Isle of Shadows by Tracy L. Higley (7.75 stars)
8. Waiting for Spring by Amanda Cabot
9. Change of Fortune by Jen Turano
10. Submerged by Dani Pettrey
11. Shattered by Dani Pettrey
12. Picture Perfect by Janice Thompson

February

1. Iscariot by Tosca Lee
2. Rebekah by Jill Eileen Smith
3. Defending the Duchess by Rachelle McCalla
4. Love in the Balance by Regina Jennings
5. The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson

March

I’m sure I read some but I didn’t keep track – and all the book reviews from this month were read earlier :p.

April

1. Sinners and the Sea: The Untold Story of Noah’s Wife by Rebecca Kanner
2. A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund
3. Wishing on Willows by Katie Ganshert
4. The Cowboy Lawman by Brenda Minton
5. Love at any Cost by Julie Lessman
6. Josiah’s Treasure by Nancy Herriman
7. Strand of Deception by Robin Carroll
8. Poison by Jordyn Redwood
9. Always the Baker, Finally the Bride by Sandie Bricker
10. Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade
11. To Die For by Sandra Byrd
12. The Secret Keeper by Sandra Byrd
13. Roses Have Thorns by Sandra Byrd

May

1. Follow the Heart by Kaye Dacus
2. Rescue Team by Candace Calvert
3. Catch a Falling Star by Beth Vogt
4. Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck
5. Waiting for Morning by Margaret Browning
6. If the Shoe Fits by Sandie Bricker

June

1. Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate by Diana Wallis
2. Jenna’s Cowboy by Sharon Gillenwater
3. Emily’s Chance by Sharon Gillenwater
4. Megan’s Hero by Sharon Gillenwater
5. I know there were more… 🙂

July

1. Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer
2. Jennifer by Dee Henderson
3. Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar
4. It Happened at the Fair by Deanne Gist
5. The Face of the Earth by Deborah Raney
6. Bride Wanted by Renee Andrews
7. Intentional Walk: An inside look at the St. Louis Cardinals by Rob Rains

August

1. Though My Heart is Torn by Joanne Bischof
2. The Wishing Tree by Mary Beth Whalen
3. Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble
4. Frame 232 by Wil Mara
5. The Icing on the Cake by Janice Thompson

September

1. Barefoot Summer  by Denise Hunter
2. Love’s Awakening by Laura Frantz
3. Fired Up by Mary Connealy

October

1. Made to Last by Melissa Tagg
2. First Date by Melody Carlson
3. Peril by Jordyn Redwood
4. Welcome to Last Chance by Cathleen Armstrong
5. Unspoken by Dee Henderson
6. A Bride for Keeps by Melissa Jagears
7. A Bride for All Seasons by various
8. Twice Promised by Maggie Brendan
9. Perfectly Matched by Maggie Brendan
10. The Anonymous Bride by Vickie McDonough
11. Second Chance Brides by Vickie McDonough
12. Finally a Bride by Vickie McDonough

November

I know I read some but no reviews…

December

1. Stones for Bread by Christa Parrish
2. My Hope is Found by Joanne Bischof
3. Daughter of Jerusalem by Joan Wolf
4. I, Saul by Jerry Jenkins and James McDonald
5. When Love Calls by Lorna Seilstad
6. Stranded by Dani Pettrey
7. Rebellious Heart  by Jody Hedlund
8. Truth-Stained Lies by Terri Blackstock
9. Solomon’s Song by Rebecca Kells Dorr
10. In Golden Splendor by Michael Reynolds
11. Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck
12. A March Bride by Rachel Hauck
13. A December Bride by Denise Hunter
14. Taming Rafe by Susan May Warren
15. Reclaiming Nick by Susan May Warren
16. Bright Copper Kettles by Candice Sue Patterson

Irish immigrant Seamus Hanley is a lost soul, haunted by his past as a U.S. Army deserter and living alone in the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains in 1849. But after witnessing a deadly stage coach crash, he finds purpose in the scattered wreckage — a letter with a picture of a beautiful and captivating woman named Ashlyn living in San Francisco at the height of the Gold Rush.

Moved by her written plea for help, he abandons all and sets out on an epic journey across the wild and picturesque American frontier. While being pursued by those who want to hang him, Seamus encounters fascinating characters including a young Pauite Indian who makes the ultimate sacrifice in helping Seamus to cross the snowy Yosemite Valley.

Battered but changed for the better, Seamus reaches San Francisco on Christmas Eve as the city burns in the tragic fire of 1849. But there is little time for rest, as an even greater, more harrowing adventure involving Ashlyn is about to begin.

This is Michael’s sophomore offering and he does not disappoint. From the beginning, he grabbed my interest and didn’t let go. He has a way with descriptions that I envy and wish I could emulate.

The story lines are interesting. The characters are memorable. I laughed and cried with them. From Seamus’s neighbor at the beginning to the appearance of his uncle near the end, nearly every character had some definable quirk that made him or her unforgettable. The final resolution was a bit of a twist I didn’t see coming.

Michael is an author to watch. I normally read books with a bit more romance in them, but Michael held my interest regardless.

I’ve just downloaded his upcoming release, Songs of Shenandoah,  for review and look forward to reading it soon.

Overall rating: 8.25 out of 10 stars [mostly because I prefer more romance]

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

The sadness and the tenderness of life are felt so acutely in the presence of beauty, and love is revealed more in our sorrow than in our joy. -Solomon, from Solomon’s Song

The wisest of all kings, beloved son of King David and his wife Bathsheba, builder of a prosperous empire, lover to many wives and concubines-King Solomon was once merely a son of David with no guarantee of ever taking the throne. On the cusp of adulthood, with no direction in life, Solomon found himself infatuated . . . in love with a lowly shepherdess, a young maiden chosen for his father to serve David in his later years.

Overhead clouds ceased to discharge life-giving rain, and the anxious people looked to King David for relief from the famine. In their weakness they turned from Yahweh and sacrificed to foreign gods. But David’s eldest son, Adonijah had a plan, one that could cost the Benjamites their lives. Revenge.

Solomon was still Bathsheba’s eldest son’s and with it came certain family expectations. His mother wanted nothing less than the throne for her eldest living son. He must marry a princess first, and then he can marry any common woman he desired.   

Solomon struggled against family expectations and his chief rival, his own brother, Adonijah; he fought against the most disappointing aspect of his quest to become ruler, “Love is nothing, when pitted against strength and power.”

Ugh.

I’ve said many times I only offer to review books I expect to enjoy and therefore rarely give lower than a 7 or so [and really, rarely less than an 8]. This is going to be an exception :(.

I wanted to enjoy Solomon’s Song, and while it’s not BY FAR the worst book I read this year, it’s definitely not in my top 10. :/

I found the whole thing odd. Solomon and Shulamit [which struck me as an odd name] were infatuated with each other early on, sure, but love? Didn’t buy it.

It was 300+ pages of fairly torturous will they/won’t they wherein Shulamit becomes Solomon’s step-mom [in a sense, she has an unconsummated marriage to King David]. Included in there is some intrigue – how would Solomon end up being king? Would the Benjaminites get their revenge on King David’s family by attacking Bathsheba and/or Solomon? How exactly will Adonijah get his comeupance?

And so on.

By the end I was just waiting for Solomon and Shulamit to get back together. But even that was a let down. 🙁 They’re “married” and then the epilogue is a weird combination of scripture and the author telling us what happened, not a true epilogue in the story sense.

I wanted to give it a better rating. I wanted to enjoy it more. But I just didn’t. 🙁

Overall rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

When truth doesn’t make sense, will lies prevail? Cathy Cramer is a former lawyer and investigative blogger who writes commentary on high-profile homicides. When she finds a threatening note warning her that she’s about to experience the same kind of judgment and speculation that she dishes out in her blog, Cathy writes it off as mischief . . . until her brother’s wife is murdered and all the ‘facts’ point to him. The killer has staged the crime to make the truth too far-fetched to believe. Working to solve the murder and clear her brother’s name, Cathy and her two sisters, Holly and Juliet, moonlight as part-time private investigators. Juliet, a stay-at-home mom of two boys, and Holly, a scattered ne’er-do-well who drives a taxi, put aside their fear to hunt down the real killer. Stakes rise when their brother’s grieving five-year-old son is kidnapped. As police focus on the wrong set of clues, the three sisters and their battered detective friend are the only hope for solving this bizarre crime, saving the child, and freeing their brother.

 

I think this may have been my first Terri Blackstock book, though I know I have at least one other in the house [however, my TBR stack gets bigger and bigger… and there’s lots of books still in it… including that one…].

The book was more of a suspense with a bit of romance. Most suspense books I read tend toward “romantic suspense” where the two threads share more equal time. Regardless, I enjoyed Truth-Stained Lies and getting to know this family. It seems to be the first in a series and I hope to see future books and get to know them better.

The twists and turns will keep you guessing until the very end. I did guess “whodunit” fairly early on – it’s possible others could have guessed sooner, but I did pick it up on the first relatively big clue. Other twists kept me guessing until the very end.

I look forward to the next next release, Distortion, comes out next spring. It’s definitely on my “to look for on NetGalley” list!

Overall rating: 8.25 out of 10 stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ecopy in exchange for my honest review.

Jody Hedlund Brings History to Life Like Few Others 

In 1763 Massachusetts, Susanna Smith has grown up with everything she’s ever wanted, except one thing: an education. Because she’s a female, higher learning has been closed to her, but her quick mind and quicker tongue never back down from a challenge. She’s determined to put her status to good use, reaching out to the poor and deprived. And she knows when she marries well, she will be able to continue her work with the less fortunate. 

Ben Ross grew up a farmer’s son and has nothing to his name but his Harvard education. A poor country lawyer, he doesn’t see how he’ll be able to fulfill his promise to make his father proud of him. When family friends introduce him to the Smith family, he’s drawn to quick-witted Susanna but knows her family expects her to marry well. When Susanna’s decision to help an innocent woman no matter the cost crosses with Ben’s growing disillusionment with their British rulers, the two find themselves bound together in what quickly becomes a very dangerous fight for justice.

Jody Hedlund brings true stories to life like no one else – and this story is one of my favorites.

The love story of John and Abigail Adams is the stuff of legends – literally – and Jody does a great a job of bringing them to life.

Ben is a Patriot, though they’re not truly up and running like they would be a decade later. Abigail Adams is credited with saying, “John is so ambitious, he is always the first in line to be hanged.” You can see in Ben how John became that man. John was one of the main agitators for Independence and the British were determined to bring them all down. Of course, they don’t, but that’s neither here nor there in Rebellious Heart. In fact, it ends long before the Revolution truly begins.

Ben is a poor farmer-turned-lawyer, defending the innocent, though everyone else believes his client is the one who did the awful things he’s accused of. John was willing to defend the British soldiers after the Boston Massacre because he believed it would be worse for them to be represented by an incompetent barrister and have those soldiers be executed given the nature of the massacre itself [look it up; it wasn’t quite the massacre the papers etc of the time made it out to be]. Ben was that kind of man.

Abigail was a shrewd business woman [seriously – the woman found a way to make oodles of money LEGALLY and not unethically during the War – having John send home goods from France and selling them at even a modest profit was A LOT of money]. You see the seeds of who Abigail becomes in Susanna. She risks everything for a runaway who needs her help. She loves Ben unreservedly despite the difference in their ages and stations in life.

Though the story doesn’t follow that of John and Abigail exactly, it’s true to their characters and who they would become in the quest to become a country. Life in the colonies is often brutish with controlling British forces. So it is here, but Ben and Susanna not only survive but thrive and go on to become the founders of our country.

Or something like that ;).

John and Abigail spent much of their marriage apart. During this time they wrote letter after letter, often addressed to “My Dearest Friend.” You can find some of their letters available for download from Project Gutenberg as The Familiar Letters of John and his wife Abigail Adams during the Revolution. Many more letters can be found with a simple Google search or you can purchase other collections from Amazon [I may have gotten one of them last week] or elsewhere.

I went into this book expecting to love it and I wasn’t disappointed.

Rebellious Heart gets 9.25 out of 10 stars, and not just because of the Adams connection.

Thanks to Jody and the publisher for an influencer copy in exchange for my review.

When her friend vanishes from a cruise ship, reporter Darcy St. James isn’t satisfied with their explanation that she simply left her job of her own accord. Something isn’t lining up, and Darcy believes the only way to find the truth is to put herself in Abby’s position. Within days, Darcy learns her friend wasn’t the only person to disappear mysteriously. Last summer, a woman vanished under almost identical circumstances. 

Gage McKenna has taken a summer-long stint leading adventure excursions for the passengers of various cruise lines that dock for a few days of sightseeing. He’s surprised to find Darcy working aboard one of the ships, investigating a troubling report. Something sinister is going on and the deeper they dig the more Gage fears they’ve only discovered the tip of the iceberg.

 

 

 

It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Dani Pettrey’s [AND she just signed a new book deal! YAY!] and have been looking forward to each of the Alaskan Courage releases since I discovered them.

This is no exception.

The story line, set in large part on an Alaskan cruise ship, delves into the deep underworld of human trafficking, but never exploits or gets to “stomach turning.”

The romance is everything you’d expect from Dani Pettrey. I loved Darcy and her spunkiness, her determination, despite being “in over her head”, quite literally, at times. I loved Gage – he’s a McKenna – need I say more?! He’s tough and tender at the same time. He’s everything I love in a hero.

And the footprints on his heart?

Be still MY heart!

I can’t wait for Dani’s next release – or to hear about her new series coming a couple of books from now :).

Overall rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for my review.