Book Review

Home Away from Home by Penny Frost McGinnis

/ sandramervillehart / 1 Comment

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Abbott Island Series, Book 2

Marigold Hayes lost her mother as a teenager, at the same time that her father went missing. Now in her fifties, she still wants nothing more than to find her dad. She’s never married. Her relationship with Johnny Papadakis is the longest she’s known, yet what if he leaves like her father did?

Johnny loves Marigold. His Greek restaurant keeps him busy while he waits for her trust in him to build. He also wants to strengthen bonds with his adult daughter, a relationship that his ex-wife had tried to destroy.

This story is told through multiple viewpoints. The villain had me shaking my head. Believable characters made me care about their journey. Unexpected twists kept me turning pages.

Surprises await the characters in this small-town island setting. The setting was one of my favorite parts, as I got to know other residents I might see in upcoming novels.    

I’m enjoying this series.

Amazon

Finding Juniper by Cindy Thomson

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Patrick Doyle thought he was doing the right thing by fighting for Ireland during World War I, yet he’s treated as an enemy when he returns home, especially by his pregnant girlfriend’s father. Paddy asks Roisin to flee with him to the United States. She refuses. Fearing for his life, he leaves despite his desire to raise his child.

This time-slip novel actually begins in 1950, when he receives a letter from his and Roisin’s daughter, Juniper. It’s written in childish handwriting, and Juniper would now be 30.

Patrick had married an American, and they had a daughter who is now in her twenties. He has never returned to Ireland. He never met Juniper, whom he is certain had died many years before. Is the letter real?

This multi-layered tragic story is told from several viewpoints. The action slips from 1950 to the past in a masterful way. Some parts were so tragic that they were difficult to read, yet it was impossible to put down.

Believable, flawed characters drew me into their plight. This book is a page turner.

This well-written, gripping story tugged at my emotions.

Recommended for readers of historical fiction and Irish history.

I will look for more books by this author.

Amazon

His Wagon Train Sweetheart by Catherine Kennedy

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Introduction to Walton Valley Series

Georgiana Walton has been raised by her father to ride with wagon trains. Her mother died during childbirth. George longs to wear dresses. She wants a permanent home, but marriage and a family of her own are only dreams.

Dr. Elijah Mitchell has a job waiting for him in Santa Fe, where he plans to give his mother a fresh start after his father’s death. Although the prickly George captures his attention, there can be no future for them. Something besides the job is pulling him toward Santa Fe.

I quickly began to care about the heroine’s difficulties. Her character was believable and unique in the story. I loved how the author introduced not only the main characters but also a new community. I’m interested in seeing what happens in the series.

This was an easy, quick read that I enjoyed. I will look for the first book in the series.  

The Last Memory by Kathleen Rouser

/ sandramervillehart / 1 Comment

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Part of The Great Lakes Lighthouse Brides Collection

Mallory has no memories of her past. The ship she’d been aboard, the Mallory, sank, and she was the sole survivor. Cal Waterson had saved her and brought her to his lighthouse to recuperate. Lily, his sweet daughter, and Cal’s Aunt Ada tend her head wound. But Mallory wonders who she is and what her life had been like.

Although Cal has grown accustomed to loneliness since losing his wife in childbirth, he can’t deny being drawn to Mallory. Lily wants her for a mother, yet Cal tries to deny his heart while waiting to learn her identity.

I was drawn into the story from the first page. Lovable characters—including a sweet little girl who is desperate for a mother—tugged at my heart. I loved that Mallory’s artistic talent brought glimpses of her old life.

I couldn’t put the story down.

This historical novella is a sweet, nostalgic story. I will look for more stories by this author.

The Summer of Keeping Secrets by Jill Lynn

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Only something as important as cleaning out her deceased parents’ house could prompt Marin Henderson for an extended stay at her childhood home. Too many bad memories and secrets resided there, things the widow intended to keep hidden from her adult children at all costs.

Her daughter Slade and son Reed arrive to help, but they have wounds and secrets too.

But secrets can create their own scars.

Relatable, wounded characters quickly drew me into the story. There were many unexpected twists and turns. It’s a story about family, of growing apart and denying each other the strength that can be found together.

This contemporary novel was a page-turner for me. Highly recommend.

Amazon

Healing the Mountain Man’s Heart by Misty Beller

/ sandramervillehart / 1 Comment

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Brothers of Sapphire Ranch, Book 1

1868—Rock Creek, Montana Territory

Dr. Dinah Wyatt accompanies her pregnant twin sister Naomi to the Montana Territory. Naomi was responding to a mail-order bride advertisement from Jericho Coulter. Once her sister is settled, Dinah plans to open a clinic in one of the few towns nearby, regardless of its reputation for wild behavior among the men. They’d hardly bother a female doctor determined to treat their illnesses, right?

Jericho Coulter doesn’t trust the sisters—or any strangers, for that matter. He didn’t advertise for a bride. What did they really want? His brother’s accident requires a doctor’s care. Begrudgingly, he allows them to stay a few days. He must protect his siblings…and the hidden treasure.

I fell in love with both families and they drew me into the story. The lovable main characters possess believable, relatable flaws. This story had many surprising twists that kept me turning pages from the beginning.

I’m already hooked on this series! I can’t wait to read the next book.

Recommended for readers of inspirational historical romances.

Amazon

Where Trees Touch the Sky by Karen Barnett

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Redwood National Park Novel

A Time Slip Novel

1972—June Turner took a summer job at the new national park at her great-aunt Marion’s prompting. Her leg brace and crutch are constant reminders to others of her childhood bout with polio, yet she hopes she can do all the job requires. When she learns that her boss has hired Adam to replace her, she sets out to prove herself. She’s used to this treatment, having endured it all her life.

1923—Nurse Marion Baker spends the bulk of her free time fighting to establish a national park along with others in the Save the Redwoods League. She has loved the giant trees since childhood and can’t bear to see loggers cut any more of them.

Frank Duncan tries to make up for past mistakes with his father, but the stern timber baron is as unmovable as the trees that irritating nurse loves so passionately. He manages to keep his identity a secret from her. After they begin dating, he worries how his family will accept her—and how she will accept his family.

Loveable, believable characters make mistakes that affect their future and the future of the Redwood Forest. Past heartache rises up to affect the present.

The author has woven a beautifully redemptive story. Readers are pulled into the challenges faced by each character, making us care on so many levels. A myriad of twists and turns in both time periods kept me riveted to this well-written book.

This book will stay with me for a long time.

I will look for other books by this author. Highly recommended.  

Christianbook.com  

Rescue in the Wilderness by Andrea Byrd

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

Frontier Hearts, Book 1

Lucinda Gillespie’s father has kept her confined since her mother’s death eleven years before. He’s ashamed of her illness, which keeps her in constant pain. Her mother was the one who’d ever loved her. Her embittered, cruel father blames Lucinda for his wife’s death. She has lived with shame and abuse from the age of seven and sees no end in sight.

William Cole, a lonely hunter, carries his own guilt. Yet when he learns that Lucinda’s father plans to gamble her away on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, he can’t leave her fate in the hands of the drunken victor. He searches for her and tells her of her father’s plans.

She hasn’t left the cabin in over ten years but she must trust God and this stranger who hides his face from her. Their dangerous journey west to Kentucky also fills her with wonder and a sense of freedom she’s never known.

Both main characters struggle with a sense of self-worth. Lucinda clings to the Christian faith her mother had instilled in her. William searches for his faith that a heart-wrenching loss stole from him.

This story tugged at my heart. I was quickly pulled into their plight. It was a page-turner for me.

Recommended.  

Amazon

Love’s Winding Road by Susan F. Craft

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

The Great Wagon Road, Book 1

1753—When Rose sets out on a wagon train with her parents and sister, she has no idea how much the journey will change her life. The trail is fraught with danger yet Daniel, the half-Cherokee wagon scout, makes her feel protected.

Rose’s beauty and courage draws Daniel’s attention like no other, even Rebecca, his childhood friend whom it was generally expected to marry someday, though he’d never proposed. Surprisingly, his dog also befriends Rose. Unfortunately, Daniel knows someone like Rose will never reciprocate his feelings.

This story was a page-turner for me. The protective hero is also vulnerable. The compassionate heroine has many instances to call upon her own courage. Lovable, believable characters drew me into the story from the beginning. Violence is realistic to the era.

Unexpected twists kept me turning pages. I’m so glad this is a series because I can’t wait to read the next book.

Recommended for readers of historical romance.  

Amazon

Madison’s Mission by Susan G. Mathis

/ sandramervillehart

Reviewed by Sandra Merville Hart

A Boldt Castle Story

Thousand Islands Gilded Age

Madison Murray has served as lady’s maid to Louisa Boldt, the sweet and compassionate wife of the wealthy George Boldt, for the past ten years. Madison worries about the declining health of Mrs. Boldt, who treats her almost like family. Madison is just as impressed by the castle on Heart Island that Mr. Boldt is having built in his wife’s honor as she is with Emmet O’Connor, the construction overseer.

Emmet O’Connor loves his job as construction engineer on the beautiful castle and inspects every stone that’s laid, every nail that’s pounded to insure its precise placement. He falls in love with Madison and dreams that their friendship will blossom into much more—until tragedy strikes.

Both Madison and Emmet try to clear the web of lies entangling everyone but the danger escalates.

I loved this well-written, poignant story! Loyalty, scars from the past, grief, danger, jealousy, and courage are challenges faced by lovable, believable characters.

I was transported back to another era to small islands in the St. Lawrence River. Heroic characters tugged at my heart and drew me into the story.  The beautiful settings tempt me to explore the islands for myself.

A page-turner from beginning to end, I highly recommend this delightful read for lovers of historical romances!