Book Review

His Small-Town Family by Lorraine Beatty

/ sandramervillehart

Home to Dover Series, Book 1

Circumstances drive Nicki Latimer back home to Dover, Mississippi, where she has to raise her infant daughter and save her father’s failing business while he recuperates. Out of desperation the widow hires Ethan Stone, a stranger to town.

Ethan is fighting his way through PTSD. He’s able to push through it with the help of a support group most of the time. That and a childhood living in foster homes leave him feeling inadequate for fatherhood.

Nicki has her own secrets as she’s never revealed the true nature of her relationship with her dead husband. Yet it has left deep scars.

The characters drew me into their struggles early in the story. Both had known heartache and loneliness. An easy read that kept my interest.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Primary Suspect by Laura Scott

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Wrongfully accused and on the run for a crime he didn’t commit, Firefighter Mitch Callahan hates that Dana Petrie is on the run with him. The widow’s only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

They flee from the hospital when a man attacks Mitch. The reason for the attack is a mystery to both of them. Mitch feels guilt enough that he couldn’t save her husband from a fire they both battled. All his efforts failed that day three years ago, leaving Dana a widow. Now he’s managed to drag her into his nightmare.

Danger escalates at every turn and now Dana is also a target.

Escalating tension and growing romance make this novel a suspenseful page turner! Twists and turns in the story kept my interest until the end. This is the first time I’ve read a suspense novel by this author and I will look for more.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

A Family-Style Christmas by Carolyne Aarsen

/ sandramervillehart

Caitlin Severn had just ended a three-year relationship when she met Simon Steele immediately after his motorcycle accident. Not only did she witness the car striking the motorcycle, she was the first on the scene. As a nurse, she cared for him and then went to the hospital with him. That time created a bond between them.

Though Simon has no visitors, Caitlin knows all the warnings against a nurse becoming involved with her patient. Also, she’s a Christian and he isn’t. Yet she’s still drawn to him.

Simon longs for a family and his brother that he hasn’t seen in years. Caitlin has a loving family. What can they have in common?

Likeable characters drew me into their heartache and struggles. This story may resonate with those growing up in foster care.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Beyond the Cherokee Trail by Lisa Carter

/ sandramervillehart

Linden Birchfield stays at her grandmother’s home in Snowbird while organizing the Trail of Tears 180th commemoration. Not everyone in the community supports the celebration, including Walker Crowe, a descendent of the North Carolina Cherokee who hid out in the mountains to avoid deportation.

Linden is drawn to Walker despite the former army sniper’s prickly personality. Yet she has a good reason to avoid marriage so she shields her heart from loving him.

Then she finds a diary in her grandmother’s attic and begins reading about the horror of the tragic Trail of Tears.

This novel slips between the historic and contemporary stories of two women and the men they loved, escalating the tension as they intertwine with the telling.

Realistic characters. Courageous heroes to fall in love with. Heroines who experience tragedy. Add a gripping story and you have a page-turning novel, masterfully written.

Recommend!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook. com

Blur by Steven James

/ sandramervillehart

Book 1 of the Blur Trilogy

 Beldon, Wisconsin, is a quiet town … until Emily Jackson drowns in Lake Algonquin. The high school freshman had been a new girl at school. Few of the students knew her, including sixteen-year-old Daniel Byers.

As the school’s quarterback, Daniel is one of the popular guys. Yet a vision of Emily speaking to him at the funeral starts to convince him that her death was no accident.

Was Emily murdered? Who did it? Searching for the truth blurs the lines between reality and madness.

Gripping. Suspenseful. I could not put the book down. It’s one of those books that will make you think.

The author is a masterful storyteller. Recommend!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

A Simple Christmas Wish by Melody Carlson

/ sandramervillehart

Rachel Milligan is spending the week with her lovable niece, Holly, when tragedy strikes. An airplane crash takes the lives of Holly’s parents shortly before Christmas.

Now the only family they have left is each other. Rachel resolves to be the best parent she can be to her brother’s only child.

Yet the will reveals some surprises. What can they do to stop it?

Lovable characters (and one you may love to hate,) and an adorable little girl who tugged at my heart made this a page turner for me.

I love stories set during the Christmas season. This heartwarming story did not disappoint me. Recommend.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

Western Christmas Wishes

/ sandramervillehart

Two novellas included in Western Christmas Wishes

 His Christmas Family by Brenda Minton

Laurel Adams didn’t really want to return to her childhood home in Hope, Oklahoma. Her grandmother was ill and needed help—that’s why she went home.

Cameron Hunt rented a guesthouse from Gladys and had reasons to prefer his own company. Yet with Gladys in the hospital, he figured he’d have to show Lauren the ropes and help her with Rose, the teenager who stayed with Gladys under foster care.

There are some surprises awaiting these two as Christmas approaches.

Not only did the struggles of the main characters tug at my heart, but also the secondary characters battled major obstacles.

An enjoyable holiday romance.

A Merry Wyoming Christmas by Jill Kemerer

Michael Carr, in between job assignments, returns to his family’s ranch for the Christmas holidays. A rift between him and his brother guarantees that he won’t linger too long after the holiday.

Leann Bowden looks forward to a new start in Wyoming with her two-year-old daughter, Sunni. Leann arrives at Sunrise Bend a few weeks before her new job starts to get them settled. It didn’t matter that Christmas was coming—there was nothing tying her to St. Louis.

There’s something about Michael that draws Leann to his quiet strength. Yet, if he doesn’t plan on staying, she can’t give into her feelings. She’s already been through one man leaving her and her daughter … she can’t go through it again.

Believable characters, an adorable little girl who tugged at my heart, and a sweet romance made this an enjoyable read!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

M is for Manger

/ sandramervillehart

I love this book!

The authors take a word from each letter of the alphabet that ties into the Christmas story. For example, “C” is for Carpenter. Joseph was a carpenter.

Each letter’s word is written in a poem.

There is a Scripture reference included with each letter.

This is an excellent book for toddlers through the second grade.

The beautifully-illustrated hard cover book makes a wonderful Christmas gift.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

 

When the Morning Glory Blooms by Cynthia Ruchti

/ sandramervillehart

A page turner!

Something unusual binds three women of different generations together. They are not related yet Anna, whose story begins in the 1890s, and her mission in life trickles down to touch the life of a young woman in 2013.

Anna, a single woman in the 1890s, has a mission. An inheritance will help her, yet she is a woman alone. How can she make a difference in anyone’s life?

In the 1950s, Ivy anxiously waits for her boyfriend to return from war. Bad news from the fighting in Korea adds to her anxiety as she looks down at her expanding middle. Will he understand and support her when he returns? Will he marry her and raise their child together?

In 2013, Becky’s whole world has turned upside down. Her high school daughter, Lauren, won’t even tell them the name of her baby’s father. Becky quits her job to care for her grandchild so Lauren can finish high school. This isn’t the life she dreamed of for her daughter.

I loved this multi-layered story! The struggles faced by each woman tugged at my heart. There are many twists and turns I didn’t see coming. I couldn’t put the book down!

This isn’t the first novel I’ve read by this author. I will look for more. Recommend!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

Mary Slessor by Terri B. Kelly

/ sandramervillehart

Wow! What an inspiring story.

Mary Slessor: Missionary Mother is a biography of a Scottish missionary (1848 – 1915) whose heart’s desire was to serve God and the people of Africa.

Putting her mission work first, she never married. She endured hardships and danger to bring the message of God’s love to African tribes. She adopted many children to save them from the terrible practice of killing infant twins.

She became friends with tribal chiefs and opened schools and churches. Yet she always wanted to move further inland to the tribes who’d never heard about God. Praying, she pressed on even when her friends feared for her life.

What a courageous woman. Her life and fierce faith changed many lives.

This biography is written for children 9 – 12. I’d say that middle-school aged boys and girls will be encouraged by this story. The author does not embellish the many harsh tribal practices—including cannibalism—yet they are part of the story so I’d recommend for possibly later elementary grades to middle-school.

I also recommend it for adults. Though written in language children can understand, I found this biography a page turner. The author’s research amazed me! It took me to the African tribes, where I lived through the danger with Mary.

I will look for more books by this author.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com