Song of My Heart (Heart of the Prairie #8) - Kim Vogel Sawyer

After reading Courting Miss Amsel, I placed this book on my watch list.  When it popped up for $2.99, I decided to go ahead and buy it.

Sadie has taken a job in Kansas to help her family out while her stepfather is ill.  While it's a far ways from Indiana, Sadie has her cousin, Sid, there to help smooth the way.  She will be working in the mercantile and will also have the opportunity to sing at the town's "opera house."

Thad is in the town on a secret mission to ferret out a group of bootleggers that the mayor feels may hurt the reputation of the town, seeing as they are in a dry state.  Thad is made sheriff and plans to turn in his badge for a Bible once this job is done.  He has his father's past to make up for.

Once Sadie arrives, she now has to deal with the fact that Sid doesn't want to be her cousin anymore (they are cousins by marriage, not by blood) and wants to make her fall in love with him.  Sadie, on the other hand, seems to be drawn romantically to Thad, bringing out an unpleasant side to Sid that Sadie never realized he had.

When it becomes apparent that the underground opera house is more than just for singing hymns, Sadie must make a choice to sing questionable songs for a rowdy crowd or lose her job.  Add to that, the fact that her employer is involved in the bootlegging and she's falling in love with the law, Sadie has some real issues to deal with.

Overall, I enjoyed the book.  I had some serious issues with the whole "shooting the badger" scene.  I thought it unrealistic the way it played out and couldn't believe that Sadie didn't ask ANY questions at all.  You'd also think that Sid would figure out how it looked and at least try to explain.  It was a real stretch for me to make the connections presented.

It was a nice read and worth the money I spent on it.  I'm not currently following any other books by this author.  Good Book!

Loving Liza Jane (Little Hickman Creek #1) - Sharlene MacLaren

This was a new author for me and I was able to pick this book up for free.

Eliza Jane has taken the job in Kentucky as the new schoolmistress.  She gets a little bit of a culture shock when she arrives and it's not quite what she was used to back east.  Being warned of a few troublemakers, Eliza gets to experience first hand just what kind of trouble they can cause when she gets locked in the outhouse.

Her rescuer ends up being Ben, a widower with two children (yes, another dead spouse).  He has offered her the abandoned cabin on his land, but he needs to fix it up before she can move in.  Eliza is a stubborn woman who is determined to move into that cabin and have some privacy.

A number of events place them in each other's path, and they both feel the need to fight their feelings.  Eliza needs to steer clear because she could lose her job, and Ben is under the impression that Eliza has feelings for someone else.

One of the "children" in particular is teenage boy that is so much of a bother as to be a physical threat to not only Eliza, but his own family as well.  Protecting Eliza becomes much harder once she gets the law involved in the situation.

I enjoyed this book a great deal, even though there was yet another dead spouse.  I'm becoming used to the dead spouses so much that they're not even bothering me anymore.  This is a safe series for anyone who wants a completion to the story.  The next two books in the series are based on characters that we meet in this book, Sarah and Emma.  Book 2 is called Sarah My Beloved and book 3 is Courting Emma.  I'm tracking them both and hope to have the chance to read them in the future.  Good Book!

Short-Straw Bride - Karen Witemeyer

This book was on my watch list and I was glad to be able to get it for $2.99.  In the past, I have been able to read To Win Her Heart and A Tailor-Made Bride.  This author is fast becoming one of my favorites.

Meridith is struggling with the prospect of marrying a man she doesn't really love.  In her mind, she has always had love in her heart for Travis Archer, a man who saved her from a trap when she was younger.  Now it's years later and their paths are going to cross again.  While on an outing with her prospective fiance, she overhears a plan to burn a family out and encourage them to sell.  The family just happens to be the Archer family.  Meridith tries to find someone to help, but in the end, it's up to her to ride out to the reclusive family's ranch and hope she doesn't get shot.

Travis and his brothers haven't left their ranch in many years.  He left only once in that time, and that was to take an injured girl back to town.  Now, she's back and he is wondering what to do with his feelings.  This brave young woman has come to warn his family and they do their best to save their barn.  Meridith ends up helping out more than he thought she could, only raising her higher in his esteem.  When the barn starts to collapse, she is hurt and ends up having to stay at the Archer home.

Her reputation in tatters, it's time for the Archer boys to step up and help her since she so willingly helped them.  Much to Travis' surprise, there is no lack of willing suitors to marry Meridith.  In the end, they decide that they need to draw straws for her.  Meridith walks in to find that Travis has the short straw, but she thinks that it's more that no one wanted her and they were drawing straws for the burden of her.

Not to be dissuaded, Meridith's old suitor isn't giving up on the land Meridith is set to inherit that easily, nor is he giving up on the Archer's land either.  As they fight through these obstacles, Travis decides that Meridith needs to be courted and acts the perfect gentleman.  Meridith quickly tires of this arrangement, but once she has the courage to tell him, circumstances get in the way.

As with the other two, I really enjoyed this book.  The characters are well developed and I liked the original story line.  I'm still tracking Head in the Clouds, hoping that one day it will drop in price as well.  Great author!  Good Book!

Glamorous Illusions - Lisa T Bergren (Grand Tour Series #1)

After reading through the main books in the River of Time series (Waterfall, Cascade and Torrent), I was excited when this book popped up for free.  I had enjoyed this author a lot and I was pleasantly surprised when I was able to get this book free.

Cora has come home to Montana, only to find her father sick from a stroke and the family farm on the verge of going under.  Here comes Wallace Kensington, claiming that he is her biological father and he is willing to take her sick father to the best of care, but he also wants to take Cora off on a grand tour of Europe with his other children.

Will is one of the tour guides and realizes that his position is to not get involved with the people, but he feels drawn to Cora right off the bat.  She thinks that he has feelings for her at first, but his erratic behavior around her leaves her confused and open to the attentions of other men.

Cora finds it hard to fit in, especially after a bad encounter in England when the owners of the house they are staying in find out about her unfortunate birth.  Will stands beside her when she feels like giving up.  Circumstances get a little dangerous and Cora shows her family that she can keep a cool head and help out.

I almost screamed when I hit the end of this book.  I should have learned a lesson from reading the River of Time series.  It was all connected and nothing is resolved at the end of the first book.  This is not a book to read if you want to find out what happens.  The next leg of the tour comes out in spring 2013 - Grave Consequences and the third comes out in the fall - Glittering Promises.

I had a feeling I would enjoy the book and I was right.  The characters were interesting and I found myself getting peeved when they would do things that I didn't agree with.  Mostly Cora, but Will was guilty of it once in a while as well.  This author is talented at making you care about the characters in her books, as if you're actually getting to know a person.

I'm not usually a fan of these types of series.  In fact, I try to avoid them as much as I can, but I'm not disappointed about this one at all.  I'm actually looking forward to the next installment in the spring.  The only problem is wondering how much I am going to pay!  Regardless, if you do not want an unresolved series (one where the entire series reads like one book), you might want to avoid this one.  I am personally glad that I picked this one up.  Good Book!

Refuge on Crescent Hill - Melanie Dobson

I'm not quite sure why I picked this one up back in April.  Not normally a fan of contemporary fiction, it doesn't seem like something that I would usually pick up.  Maybe I got it because it was set in Ohio.  Regardless, I made it in about 10% before I decided to give up.

There were at least 4 different story lines by then, and while I am sure that they converged eventually, I wasn't really interested in finding out how.

Camden is down and out and uses her meager funds to get back to where her grandmother lives in Ohio.  Unfortunately, she passed away the week before.  There's also a man trying to save a dying town and a man who looks to find something of value inside the house.  When I stopped, there was also a woman who was trying to learn about her family history.

Overall, I didn't think that the book was going to be bad, it just isn't my type of book.

When Calls the Heart (Canadian West #1) - Janette Oke

This book popped up for free and I quickly snatched it up.  I read this book back when I was a teenager and I liked it, but my DTB copy has been gone for quite some time.  I decided to pick this one up out of nostalgia and to see how much of it I remember.

Elizabeth has determined that she is going to head west to Calgary to be near her brother.  Her sole desire is to teach, not find a husband.  When she rejects the suit of the man in charge of the school, he sends her way out in the country out of bitterness.  Elizabeth is determined to see it through, and if that is where God wants her to teach, she is going to teach there.

Wynn is a Mountie that is helping out his family.  Elizabeth mistakenly believes that he is married, and when he starts to pay attention to her, she treats him harshly.  He is married to his work and believes that he should never get married and subject a woman to the kind of life that he leads.  She thinks about him all the time, but their interactions are few and far between.

If you have ever seen a Janette Oke book in person, you'll understand that these are not long books.  They are more what I would term a "diet" book.  It won't take you long and it's a nice enjoyable read without making you concentrate and keep track of every little detail that is going on.  This book is no different.

I didn't end up remembering much of the book from years ago, but the main thing that I had forgotten was that there really isn't much in there about Elizabeth and Wynn.  I would say that 3/4 of the book is about her journey as a teacher and her thoughts about Wynn are mixed in here and there.  It wasn't a bad book, it just doesn't have the normal amount of romance in there that I am used to.  If more of Janette Oke's books come up for free, I'd definitely pick them up, but there are just too many to track.  She has written over 40 books!

Overall, I liked Elizabeth's character, but I truly wish that we had been able to get to know Wynn more than we did.  I'm sure that we get to know him better as the series progresses, but I would have liked for him to be more developed in this first book of the series.  Good Book!

Love in Disguise - Carol Cox

This book popped up for free and looked to be one that's right up my alley.  I have never read this particular author before, but it was listed as a historical Christian romance set in the west.  My favorite setting and a no-brainer to give it a try.

Ellie has lost her job as assistant to an ego-driven actress in Chicago.  She's at a loss now as to what to do with her life.  When she overhears some Pinkerton agents commenting on needing a female for a mission, Ellie decides that she's the woman for the job and that she will go to great lengths to get it.

Steven lives in a mining town in Arizona where he owns his own silver mine.  Along with the other mine owners, he is suffering from robberies that are putting his livelihood at risk.  The mine owners get together and hire the Pinkerton Detective Agency since the local marshal doesn't seem inclined to be helpful.

Ellie arrives in town without her partner and without experience.  She ends up getting herself tangled up in her roles and wonders who she really is.  She falls for Steven pretty early on, but her role as an older woman doesn't really give her the freedom to show it in any way.  Once she takes on the role of her own niece as well, she gets close to Steven and finds that she loves him.

I did enjoy this book.  As a first try with an author, it was an enjoyable read.  I was a little disappointed that I had the main villains figured out pretty early on when there was a section devoted to a conversation he had with one of his minions.  There was still a surprise here and there, but overall I had it.  I wondered why I had never come across this author before, as there was a bio in the back saying that she had written over 30 books, but it seems that most of them are much older and a lot of them are not even available in Kindle edition.  Also, it seems that they are all over the place in subject.  I didn't see one that I needed to track, but I did really enjoy this one.  Good Book!

Burn - Ted Dekker & Erin Healy

Ted Dekker is my favorite Christian fiction author.  I have read Kiss in the past, another book written by these two and found it to be okay, but it wasn't one of my favorites.  I have to say that I truly seem to enjoy Dekker's solo efforts more, but I have an open mind, and I did really like Forbidden that was written with Tosca Lee.  As a matter of fact, I am still hoping for the second book in that series to drop in price.  I'm probably going to be waiting quite a while.

Janeal, Robert and Katie are friends living in a Gypsy community.  Janeal feels like she doesn't belong and when she finds out that her father has been keeping an important secret from her, she sees a way out of her current life, but she's basically going to have to cooperate with the devil for that to happen.

After a horrible tragedy, each of these people believes that the others didn't survive.  Janeal has made decisions that haunt her and follow her around.  Robert survived but his survival was hidden to protect him.  He has spent his life trying to track down the monster that killed everyone he loved.  When he catches up to him, Robert finds out that someone else from the fire survived.  Catching up with that person will be overwhelming.

I don't want to give too much away about this book.  The unexpected twists are something that I have come to expect from a Dekker book and the part that makes me put it down at the end and just say, "wow."  I think that this book was really good, a solid effort between these two.  I was involved in it once I started and had to make myself put it down.  Good Book!

Dear Lady (Coming to America #1) - Robin Lee Hatcher

This series was on my watch list and all 4 books popped up under my limit, so I picked them up.  In the past, I have read Catching Katie, A Vote of Confidence, Return to Me and Belonging.  While the latter 2 on the list were hardly my favorite books, I did enjoy the others and the subject matter of this series made me think that I would enjoy it.

Lady Elizabeth has escaped from an engagement to a cruel man to an uncertain future in America.  Heading off to Montana on her own, she hopes to fill a position as schoolmistress in a tiny town.  Her contact has been a 10 year old girl whom she has been exchanging letters with for quite some time.

Once she is dropped off at the cabin of Garrett Steele, she begins to wonder if she had made a good decision.  He obviously doesn't want her there and seems to be anxious to get rid of her.  Garrett has been hurt by a cruel wife who died years ago.  She was never happy with what Garrett could provide for her and was hardly a good wife.  He believes that Beth will end up being the same as his dead wife and works hard to keep his distance.

As usual, his plans don't work.  The other problem is that his best friend, Owen, is pursuing Beth and not willing to give up.  Beth thinks that Garrett still loves his deceased wife, but she still can't make herself love Owen.  She loves Garrett.

Small town gossip and circumstances throw Garrett and Beth together and eventually they really can't deny their feelings.  Garrett continues to deny them for as long as he can, but Beth breaks through his defenses.

I liked this book.  As in Belonging, the daughter plays a key role in making sure that the schoolmistress and her father get thrown together, but I still liked the book.  I enjoyed the character of Beth and look forward to the next one in the series, Patterns of Love, which is the story of Inga, a woman who travelled to America with Beth and corresponds with her throughout Dear Lady.  Good Book!

Belinda - Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble is hands down my favorite Christian romance author.  I've been able to read Smitten, but it wasn't one of her solo efforts.  Unfortunately for me, her books rarely drop below my $5 limit.  While searching on amazon the other day, I was shocked to see this little gem up for $0.99.  Looking closely, it was listed as 64 pages, but with this author, I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to mind.

Belinda is running a sort of antique junk yard where people can come and get fixtures for their house.  Her husband died a few years ago, and Belinda is living under the thumb of his mother.  Belinda has never been good enough in her eyes and is always threatening to sell the building her business is in out from under her and try to take custody of her daughter. Keeping her on the edge of poverty gives her power over Belinda and she is quick to rub it in.

Rick comes in as a customer and is instantly drawn to the pair.  He wants to be a part of their lives, but Belinda has been torn down so many times that she no longer feels that she has any chance with anyone.  She thinks that Rick is only hanging around to be a friend to her daughter.  Once her deceased husband's mother gets wind that a man is hanging around, her threats become stronger and more real for Belinda.

This little novella was a welcome break for me.  I liked the story a lot and it was a quick read.  Originally this story was part of a larger book called Forever Friends.  As of now, this little section of the book is the only part available on Kindle.  It feels like the past 5 books I've read have a deceased spouse in them (including the one I'm reading now), but it didn't really take away from my enjoyment of the book.  Good Baby Book!

Always the Designer, Never the Bride (Emma Rae Creations #3) - Sandra D. Bricker

Having read the first two in this series, Always the Baker, Never the Bride and Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride, I was pleased when this third installment popped up for free.  I really looked forward to an enjoyable read.

Audrey is a woman struggling to hold on to her dream.  She absolutely loves to design wedding gowns, but it's a hard industry to make your name in and she is at the end of her rope.  All her chances hinge on this hard to please bride that strings her along and treats her like dirt.

Even though she can't really spare the time, she is headed to Georgia to attend her best friend's wedding.  Although she's already married, her original ceremony was a quick one due to her husband's obligations to the Marines.  Audrey's problems follow her to Georgia and she begins to despair.

J.R. is the brother of the groom and a free spirit.  Riding his Harley around the country and fixing up other people's bikes is his job.  Upon meeting Audrey, he gawks at her repeatedly and comes falls in love with her.

As usual, there are appearances by just about everyone from the first two books.  The updates were okay, but I felt that there was something lacking in the story involving Audrey and J.R.  I felt that the lack of faith in the book was something that also ended up bothering me.  It seemed like any time Audrey turned to God it was as a passing thought.

As the series continues on, I think that it's going to continue on without me.  Russell was still annoying and I just felt like there was so much keeping up with everyone that the main story suffered for it.  Too many cooks in the kitchen kind of thing.  I did enjoy the first two, but I don't plan on reading any more of these in the future.

The Messenger - Siri Mitchell

I picked this one up for free and held off reading it for quite a while.  This isn't my first read from this author, I have read She Walks in Beauty in the past, but I can't really remember the story even after reading the synopsis on amazon.  It's still in my library, so I couldn't have disliked it.

Hannah is a Quaker that is trying hard to hold up her end of the 'not taking sides' part of her religion.  Her brother, who abandoned his impartiality, has been arrested and sent to prison.  Jeremiah runs a tavern and is part of a spy ring.

I didn't make it far into this one.  Only about 8%.  The chapters bounce back and forth between Hannah and Jeremiah.  This is set in the colonial period, which I am discovering, is not my favorite setting.  There was just something about this book that I didn't like.

Nothing against this author, it was a learning experience for me as I will avoid books in this time period from now on.  I've tried to read a few now and I'm not sure that I've finished any lately.  I certainly don't think that I've enjoyed them much.

Before the Scarlet Dawn (Daughters of the Potomac #1) - Rita Gerlach

This is one of the books that pops up for free and I decide that I'm going to give it a shot.  I made it about 30% through before I decided to quit.

Eliza is facing the fact that she is alone in the world.  Just after her father dies, she receives word that her brother is gone as well.  She just happens to meet up with childhood friend, Hayward, and feels the love that she has always held for him blossom.

Hayward is from a wealthy family and his cousin wants to marry Eliza.  She wants nothing to do with that man.  Hayward plans to move to America, thus his father plans to disinherit him and leave the lands, etc. to the cousin.

Once her father is dead, Eliza has 2 weeks to vacate the house.  Her housekeeper/mother figure has promised to stay with her, but Eliza doesn't want to take a position in anyone's house.  Her solution is to convince Hayward to marry her and take her to America with him.

She flat out asks him to take her after she overhears the conversation Hayward has with his prospective fiance that refuses his offer.  The day before she has to leave the house, Hayward magically appears out of nowhere and takes her to Gretna Green.  A fight with his family and off they go to America.

I quit once they made it to the house on the river.  Something seemed off about the interactions between these two.  I didn't understand what prompted Hayward to change his mind when he had been so adamant about refusing Eliza in the first place.  I didn't understand much about their relationship in general and decided that the book was not for me.

Where the Wildflowers Bloom (Sisters at Heart #1) - Ann Shorey

This author has written another series, At Home in Beldon Grove.   I have picked up the first in that series in the past, The Edge of Light, when it was free but didn't really enjoy that one. The subject matter in that series doesn't really appeal to me.  Even though this was not my first time reading this author, this book seemed more up my alley, so I didn't mind picking it up for free.

Faith has lost much most of her family, most recently her father and brother to the war between the states.  Left with just her grandfather, she is noticing that his memory isn't what it used to be.  He asks her to run the family mercantile for him and she now has her own set of problems.

Curt is a man that has been emotionally and physically scarred by the war.  He feels that he'll never get past the flashbacks and nightmares and be whole again.  He abandons hope of courting Faith for this reason.  When an 'old flame' comes back into the picture, Curt feels like his chances have dwindled even more.

Royal Baxter went away to war with Faith's hair ribbon.  Apparently, he left with many other ladies' as well.  He turns his eye to Faith and encourages her to sell the store and go with him to Oregon to start over.  Faith wants to run from her memories and believes that maybe Royal is God's answer to her leaving the town.  Her grandfather believes that she won't be able to escape her memories, no matter where she runs to.

Faith doesn't really listen to her heart.  When troubles arise at the store, Faith turns to Curt for help.  She doubts her feelings for Royal but she feels like she's gone too far to turn back now.  When Curt seems interested in another woman, Faith feels a jealousy she doesn't understand. 

I enjoyed this book.  It didn't really strike me as anything unique, but it was still a good read just the same.  Book 2 is due out in February 2013 and tells the story of Rosemary, Curt's sister.  I really liked her character so I'm considering tracking it.    I'm glad that I picked this one up, though and give it a Good Book! review.