Prize of My Heart - Lisa Norato

I picked this one up for free last month.  I've never read this author before, but the story seemed right up my alley.

Brogan is a privateer that has had a rough life.  His deceased wife gave away his son while he was at sea and told him that he would never be able to find him.  He's searched for three years and is following a slim lead.  A shipbuilder ends up having his son and treating him as a member of his own family to the point of even changing his name.  Brogan has decided that he will get in the boy's good graces before spiriting him away so he can live with his rightful father.

The complication to this idea is Lorena, the shipbuilder's daughter.  From the moment they meet, there is a connection between them that only grows stronger.  Initially, Brogan tries to tell himself that he is only paying attention to her to make it easier to spend time with the boy.  When Lorena is abducted and Brogan is offered the ultimate opportunity to simply disappear with the boy, what will he choose to do?

The secrets that Lorena and Brogan hold back from each other could destroy the fragile feelings that they are developing for each other.  Only the truth will set everyone involved in this boy's life free.  It will also cause great pain.

I really enjoyed this book.  The characters were interesting and the story line unique.  I found the villain, George, to be obviously underhanded and sneaky, but apparently the people that had been around him for most of his life hadn't gotten that message! 

The author has written a few other books. They seem to be more contemporary and I normally don't seek those out. Regardless, I recommend this book to anyone who likes Christian romance and the call of the sea! Good Book!

Winds of Sonoma (Regalo Grande) - Nikki Arana

As I looked at my book list on my Kindle, I kept seeing the cover to this book and wondering if I had picked up a smutty book by mistake.  It had a picture that made me wonder, even though the description made me fairly certain it was a Christian book.  I finally decided to read it and find out.

Angelica has had a moment where she has decided that she's bending the law.  She's lost the intent of the law and made the hard choice to abandon the possible partner position at the big law firm she works at and go back home to the Sonoma Valley.  Facing the disapproval of her family, Angelica is wary to break the news to them, especially since her mother is now suffering from an undiagnosed illness.

Antonio has come across the border illegally and is now working on the ranch.  Angelica has decided to become a public defender and a voice for the needy.  She feels drawn to Antonio and decides to use Antonio as her pet project.  She wants to learn more about him and his background.  They work together so that Angelica can teach Antonio English, and he can teach her Spanish.

There is something about this book, and I just can't put my finger on it, that wasn't what I expected.  Something felt a little disjointed.  According to the author, it's her story with a few alterations. 

Also in this series is  In the Shade of the Jacaranda and The Fragrance of Roses.  These two further follow the story of Antonio and Angelica.  I am not a huge fan of contemporary fiction, with some exceptions.  This series is just not up my alley.  Just don't be fooled by the cover of this one, it IS Christian fiction!

When Two Hearts Meet (Colorado Runaway Series #3) - Janelle Mowery

Looking into my book list yesterday, I realized that I had finished a book but hadn't written a review for it.  I've read and enjoyed the first two books in this series, When All My Dreams Come True and When Love Gets in the Way.

Rachel begins making trouble before she even makes it into town.  Luke is trying to enforce the law and Rachel comes riding up and offers her nursing services.  She is coming to assist the doctor in town and is running from something in her past that she's not going to be able to hide from.

Luke is trying to keep Rachel safe.  She seems to attract trouble and dangerous accidents.  She also insists on sticking her nose where Luke doesn't think it belongs.  He also has no desire to fall in love with her, but his heart doesn't seem to be listening.

Rachel feels strongly about Luke, but also has to deal with another young man and Luke's avoidance of God.  His father was killed and Luke doesn't trust God to take care of anyone he loves.  The two of them grow in their love for each other, but the trouble surrounding Rachel needs to be resolved for their life together to begin.

As with the other two, I really enjoyed this book.  The characters from the other books make cameo appearances, but I really don't think that it is absolutely necessary to read them in order.  This is the first trilogy that the author has written.  In the past, she has written with another author, Elizabeth Ludwig.  I hope that she will write more in the future.  Good Book!

A Necessary Deception (The Daughters of Bainbridge House #1) - Laurie Alice Eakes

This book popped up for free and I decided to give it a chance.  After trying to read Lady in the Mist, which is part of the Midwives series, I wasn't 100% sure I wanted to take the time to give this one a shot.  I'm glad that I gave the author another chance.

Lydia is a widow who has felt inadequate for most of her life.  She helps release a man from prison who helped her husband to fulfill a promise and that is where all her problems begin.  While on her way to London to assist her family for the Season, she is confronted by a man who blackmails her into helping him infiltrate Society to discover if there are traitors there.

Christien is a Frenchmen, which doesn't automatically appeal to anyone at this time in England, but he claims that he is loyal to England.  His father was murdered due to the way the country is being run.  When Lydia sets him free from prison, he goes back to playing spy.  He has to work pretty hard to get Lydia to trust him.

Once Lydia believes that Christien is trying to help her and the country, they have to work together to discover who the real blackmailer is.  Lydia is trying to survive the Season with her sisters' reputations intact, which proves to be more difficult than she thought.  One headstrong, independent sister ends up breaking off her engagement and wanting to fly in hot air balloons, the other ends up preferring gentlemen best left alone.

I actually was pleasantly surprised by this book.  After mucking through my first try, I found myself enjoying the interactions between Lydia and Christien a lot.  The whole spy aspect of the book was a little confusing as I wasn't sure exactly what the point of infiltrating Society would be.  Nevertheless, I was glad to get back to reading it, not a chore at all.

The series title, The Daughters of Bainbridge House, leads me to believe that there are plans to write about Cassandra and Honore, Lydia's sisters, but I can't see any evidence that they are being written at present.  The author has published two more books since this one, but they aren't part of the series.  If she ends up writing them and I see them pop up for free, I'll snatch them up.  I will simply avoid the Midwives series.  A Necessary Deception - Good Book!

A Distant Melody (Wings of Glory #1) - Sarah Sundin

This is a new author for me.  I saw one of her books recommended in another book that I read.  I placed her books on my watch list and snatched this one up when the price dropped.  I like to read books that are centered around the air combat during WWII, since my grandfather was a pilot.  I was extremely surprised, and it's in a good way!

Allie is basically a downtrodden young woman who has been told that she's plain and boring so long that she believes it.  She tries so hard to please her parents, even entertaining Baxter Hicks, a man that hardly seems capable of loving Allie.  Her father's business seems a likely source of his attention.  While traveling to the wedding of a friend, Allie meets Walt, a pilot who is home for the wedding as well.

Walt has always had issues talking to women unless they are unavailable.  This changes with Allie, who seems to understand him better than anyone else.  He not only enjoys her company, he craves more of it.  They promise to write and pray for each other.

Misunderstandings and lies cause more problems to their relationship than anything else.  This book shows how a little white lie can spiral out of control and cause large rifts.  I was so enthralled with this book that I finished it in two days. 

I really found the action scenes amazing.  The flak descriptions and damage to planes was so real and I could imagine my grandfather going through similar situations.  A plane crash was especially relevant, as I got a small taste of what he must have gone through when he got shot down.  For those that don't really enjoy planes, the descriptions might get a little tedious, but I personally ate them up.

The characters in the book were wonderful.  Amidst the pain and death of war, Walt tries to cling to Allie, and it takes quite a while for these two to admit that they would make a great melody together.  There were times that I wanted to wring their necks for not writing something important, saying something that needed to be said, or saying the wrong thing.  But honestly, don't we all do that at times?  There are two more in this series, A Memory Between Us and Blue Skies Tomorrow.  It looks like she is starting a new series, Wings of the Nightingale, with the first installment, With Every Letter, coming out in September.  I'll certainly keep tracking her books and hope they come down to my price range!

When Love Gets in the Way (Colorado Runaway Series #2) - Janelle Mowery

I picked up this book when the price dropped on it.  This is book 2 in the Colorado Runaway Series.  I had a small issue figuring out what order the books went in, When Love Gets in the Way and When Two Hearts Meet have the same publication date.  I had to start one of the books to check the order.  Anyway, book 1, When All My Dreams Come True, was enjoyable and I looked forward to continuing the series.

Grace is a woman trying to escape from a marriage that she can't imagine agreeing to.  She hides in the back of Cade Ramsey's wagon unsuccessfully.  When he finds her, he threatens to take her back to her father.  Eventually convincing him to let her tag along is hard.  She finally tells him her problems, and he takes her to his friend's ranch to help out tomboy Bobbie (from the first book).

Cade runs the livery and it seems like every time he comes across Grace, she attacks him in some way.  His horses get scared away, he gets hit in the eye, stepped on by a horse, and the list goes on and on.  He's put his heart on the line before and been hurt.  He has every intention of staying away from the walking disaster that is Grace.

When Grace's prospective suitor turns up in Rockdale, Cade shows his protective side.  Frank wants Grace no matter what and will do whatever it takes to make that happen.  That includes buying people to do dirty work for him and making Cade's life miserable.

I loved this book.  Grace was a great character that made me laugh at times.  That poor woman was anything but graceful!  Cade was a likable character as well.  The couple from the first book, Jace and Bobbie, are in this book a lot, so I recommend reading the first book in the series before this one.  It's not absolutely necessary, but I think that with them being mentioned that much, it would make it more enjoyable to read that way.

Book 3, as mentioned above, is When Two Hearts Meet.  I'm going to read it next and finish out the series.  Good author!  Great Book!

Saving Hope (Men of the Texas Rangers #1) - Margaret Daley

I was craving a good western romance and decided to give this book about a Texas Rangers a shot.  Unfortunately, I only made it about 30% in before I concluded that I would rather not finish it.

Kate runs a sort of halfway house for teens that have been caught up in prostitution.  Rose is one of those girls and when one of her friends calls for her help, she gets captured by the man who had her trapped in that world that she never wanted to see again.  Kate has to find Rose.  She meets up with Wyatt, a Texas Ranger who has been assigned to look into the child prostitution rings.

Wyatt has a teenage daughter and lives with his mother.  His wife was murdered 9 years ago and he blames himself.  He's going to help to find Rose, but the additions of a murder, a suicide attempt and a missing girl make the case even more complicated.

I don't like to read things that are depressing or deep.  I commend the author for addressing an issue that most of us would rather not believe ever happens.  Unfortunately, that seems to be untrue.  I just don't want to read about it.

I found the attraction between Kate and Wyatt to be somewhat unrealistic as they were supposed to be focused on finding a teen in danger and a murderer, not cooking steaks and chatting.  Wyatt also seemed to not do much of anything except hang around Kate.  He got information about the case, but he didn't seem to be obtaining much information on his own.

I personally was not fond of this book and quit before it continued to get more depressing.  This book came out in March, so there isn't a second book at this time.  I won't be seeking it out.  I'll read something else instead.

Code Triage (Mercy Hospital #3) - Candace Calvert

The third book in this series, Code Triage was a freebie that I was glad to add to my collection.  I was able to snag the first two, Critical Care and Disaster Status, for free as well.

Leigh has been running from her husband, Nick, for a long time.  Convinced that their marriage was never going to work, they have a week left before the divorce is final.  Leigh is actually back in the same city as her husband, and eventually they were going to run into each other.  She's an ER doctor and he's a police officer.  She plans on leaving to go somewhere after the divorce is final and taking her all important horse with her.

Nick hasn't given up.  He made a mistake and had a brief fling with Sam after his friend's death, but now wants nothing more than to make things right with Leigh.  They run into each other after Nick saves a family and they meet at the ER.  Unfortunately, Nick's fling has been assigned to the family's case as a Crisis Child worker and has decided that she wants Nick for herself.

Manipulation runs rampant when Sam decides that she'll do anything to keep Nick for herself.  Leigh doesn't trust anyone really and fights her feelings, telling herself that the best thing she can do is let the divorce go through.  She tries to believe that she doesn't care about Nick anymore.

I blazed though this book.  It doesn't sound like a book I would enjoy on the surface.  Betrayal, a marriage on the rocks, a family struggling to survive, a couple coming to terms with Alzheimer's.  But I will tell you that once you get into this book, you just have to read to the end and see how it all turns out.

My eyes are bugging out today from all the reading, but it was well worth it.  The author has out another book, Trauma Plan, that is under the series Grace Medical, but it is about Riley, a character that is prominent in this book.  It looks like Riley has gone back home, thus the series change.  I loved the characters in this book and the addition of the update at the end as well.  I don't think that it's necessary to read the books in order, you won't lose anything important by reading them out of order.  I am tracking Trauma Plan now, I hope that the price drops on it!  Great author! Good Book!