Beloved Hope / Tracie Peterson

My latest review for Bethany House Books is Beloved Hope by Tracie Peterson.

   Beloved Hope is second in a series called Heart of the Frontier that follows three orphaned sisters who make their way to to the Oregon Territory to set up their home. Hope is the middle sister and the book opens with her having to face the natives who assaulted her while she was held hostage. Hope's older sister is pregnant for the first time while her husband is sent away on army detail. And youngest sister Mercy has to consider whether or not she should accept a marriage proposal.  Mercy, as her name suggests, feels guilty about whether hanging the men who assaulted Hope will bring her sister peace and suggests Hope finds a way to forgive.
  I loved the story idea and the setting. Historical fiction is some of my favorites because it takes you to a different time and place and way of life. There was a lot of religious discussion in this book, which I think makes it a little more for more devout Christian book readers than secular, but either party will enjoy the series.

Map That Leads To You / J. P. Monniger

  I'm not a fan. Pretentiousness drips off the page. A snotty woman is rude to a man on a train in Amsterdam and, naturally, he falls in love her. These people rubbed me the wrong way from the very beginning, I couldn't take more than 5 chapters. My God, these philosophical, upper middle class, fancy college brats on the loose in Europe - Gag me with the biggest spoon you can find.

74 Seaside Avenue Cedar Cove / Debbie Macomber

 I'm a big fan of the Cedar Cove series and I've read several of them (I highly recommend them to anyone who loves a serial saga in a small town) Even though this book is from 2007, look for it online because you'll get addicted fast! I haven't been reading (and listening to the audiobooks) in order and that's no problem, you can join it in progress just like a soap and catch up with no problems following the characters.
  74 Seaside Avenue sees the beginning of a new relationship for widower Troy, whose daughter faces a possible health crisis and also isn't happy about him moving on to a new woman. Meanwhile, Teri's famous chess player husband Bobby is concerned for her safety after a Russian chess opponent threatens to pull out all the stops to win. Judge Olivia also faces a personal health crisis (Could it be cancer? Gasp!)
  Babies, Grandbabies, wedding receptions, kidnapping, health crises this book jams it all in without feeling jammed in at all. These characters, this town, and their lives are all a treat to follow. No wonder they made it into a TV show (I need those DVD's!)

With You Always by Jody Hedlund

My latest blog for Bethany House Bloggers is here! With You Always by Jody Hedlund.

  This book is number one in a new series called Orphan Train and judging by this book I can't wait to read more from this series.
 Book One is With You Always and intertwines two very different lives for a sweet romance. Thornton Quincy's father pits him against his twin brother Bradford for the family inheritance. Each son has to develop a successful town in the newly settled Illinois territory and the son with the most successful town wins. Bradford pulls out all the stops to make sure things hit a snag for Thornton. Thornton, meanwhile, is bringing in trains of new workers from New York. Aboard one train is Elise Neumann, an orphan who comes to the west in hopes of sending money home to her younger brother and sisters. The kids back in New York are also doing what they can to survive during a bout of terrible joblessness that hits New York City in the 1850's. Thornton and Elise met previously at the border house she was staying in when he saved her from rioters, so when he sees her again arrive on his train he is more than pleased.
  This book creates a good portrait of the era, and the romance between Thornton and Elise is chaste but still has more fire than I've read in other Christian themed novels. I liked the various plots switching back and forth between Quincy, Illinois and the kids in New York. I hope to read more about Frannie's tale because I think there is more story there (Does she overcome her rough past to make a name for herself in Quincy?) And what happened to young Sophie? -we're left hanging.
  A good weekend read for historical romance lovers.

Here and Gone by Haylen Beck

I've been in the middle of several books so I haven't posted a review in a while, but I just finished Here and Gone and I'm ready to rave!
  Here and Gone is one of the best crime drama I've read this year, the writing and suspense are both top notch. The story begins with a woman on the run from her ex-husband when she's pulled over by a cop on a lonely sretch of highway. She's already nervous, and then the cop starts treating her suspiciously. During a search he finds a bag of weed in her trunk - that she didn't put there - he says he has to take her in. 'Don't worry' another cop will take her kids to a 'safe place' until she's released. She's arrested, jailed, and then....when she asks to see her kids, the cop sneers, 'What kids??' You can feel her panic and desperation right through the paper.
  We, the readers, know what happens to her kids when female cop Mitchell. Then watching the story unfold...Why were they taken? What are cops Collins and Mitchell planning to do with these kids....And then the desperation switches onto the cops when suspicion grows.
  I loved he originality of this story, then intense telling went all the way trough from beginning to end. It was one of those novels I wanted to keep reading and not put down. Show stopper! I can't wait to read more from this author.