New Author Month - Impressions

When I came up with the idea to have New Author Month, it really wasn't a difficult decision.  I had plenty of new authors on my Kindle and I had no issues picking out books. Most of them are the usual genres I read, but I did go out of my comfort zone a little bit.  I think it's important to do that every once in a while.

Overall, it was a good experience.  I didn't go into it having high expectations, but was pleasantly surprised with the results.  Most of the books I read were very good.  I think the only downside to this whole experience is the fact that I ended up with a lot more books on my watch list than I had before.  I was starting to diminish that list a bit and now I have tons of books to watch again.

I recommend that you try out a new author now and then.  Sometimes you waste your time, but other times you end up finding a great new author to read.

The Dunn Deal (Christine Sterling Mystery #2) - Catherine Leggitt

My final book review for New Author Month is this mystery.  I'm not usually a big mystery novel reader, but this one had caught my eye.

Christine's good friends just had a tragedy and Christine is determined to make sure the truth is told.  She ends up getting her nose in the investigation, much to everyone's dismay.  Not only does she put herself in danger, but she ends up getting a young woman involved when her dog is taken hostage.  Nothing seems to stop this woman.

I admit it took me a little while to get through this one.  I found Christine to be kinda crazy in the way that she was pursuing a murderer.  Even when she suspects someone, she doesn't seem to have any issues confronting them.  She also waffles between missing her dog like crazy and doing nothing.  The secrets she keeps from not only the police but her own husband really bothered me.

This book is part of a trilogy.  This particular book is the second one.  There are references to the first book,  Payne and Misery, but I didn't feel like I missed anything by reading it out of order.  The last book, Parrish the Thought, came out in November.  I don't plan on tracking the other two, it just wasn't my kind of book.

The Assigned - A.D. Smith III

New Author Month has been a good experience so far.  This book wasn't part of the original plan, but I still have plenty of new authors on my Kindle, so I decided to keep reading.

The Assigned is the story of three completely different individuals brought together by a common experience.  Each is given a special Gift that is meant to be used to fight against a Familiar, a son of the Devil.

Zeek is bitter towards God.  Losing his young wife on their wedding day, he now is dealing with the mysterious illness of his four-year-old daughter.  No one seems to know what is wrong with her and Zeek takes it out on everyone else.  A priest attempts to bring hope to the family, but Zeek would rather throw the man out.  When his daughter practically raises from the dead and makes a full recovery, Zeek finds out that he has a special gift.

Tre is a football star.  Getting hurt hasn't made him any more humble.  His father is a minister and is always checking in on him, wanting him to come back to God.  Tre's brother has gotten himself into drugs and his new crowd isn't what he thought.  When Tre's brother calls one night, desperate for help, Tre puts him off for hours only to find him dead.  Ridden with guilt, Tre gets careless and doesn't care about his life.

Gloria has a demanding mother.  Nothing she does is good enough, so she seeks peace at church.  She never understood why her mother dropped her off there one day when all she does is complain about the church.  One day, she finds out that the man she considers to be a "father figure" is actually her father, and believing that he knew all along, she runs away.

The three are brought together when Zeek's daughter is almost abducted at the park. They learn that every few generations, three individuals are chosen to do God's work. Will they be able to believe and work together as a team?

I really enjoyed this book.  It was a unique story and interesting.  I did have a few issues, but they are nothing major.  We switch point of view often.  While this isn't a major deal, I had to search through the first paragraph or two to find the clues to figure out whose point of view we were now on.  Also, my major complaint, is the grammar errors.  They weren't spelling errors per se, they were more homophone or just the wrong word.  It was like the author used spell check and these were missed because they were still "words," just not the correct one.  Some of the language might be questionable to some, but I didn't have any issues with it.  Considering the characters' backgrounds, it made sense.

This is the only book that I found out by this author.  I think that if he writes more, and there is an open ending for that, I would recommend having someone read it through and try to catch those errors.  All in all, I really liked the book and recommend it.  Good Book!

Rocky Mountain Oasis (The Shepherd's Heart #1) - Lynnette Bonner

This is my final book that I had scheduled to read for the month of March.  I have finished all the books I had set aside for New Author Month, but since the month isn't quite over, I've started another one by a new author so I can stay in the spirit of New Author Month to the end!

Brooke has been sold by her uncle as a mail-order bride.  Heading west to meet her new husband, the only thing she can imagine is a world just like the one she came from. Abuse and cruelty must be inside every man.  That's been her experience anyway.

Sky has heard of his cousin's plan to buy himself a wife to use as he pleases.  Sky is sad that his childhood buddy has fallen so low.  In an attempt to save the young woman, Sky offers to buy Brooke from him.  It's the only way he can see to prevent her being used by his cousin.

Brooke is not a trusting person.  Her past has taught her that no man is to be trusted.  Sky has the patience of a saint.  It's obvious that Brooke has been through a great deal and he prays for her and uses his actions to show Brooke that she has nothing to fear from him.  Brooke eventually trusts Sky, but she also feels like he deserves much better than the person she is.

Tensions are high in town and when there's a brutal murder, the blame falls on some Chinamen.  The problem is that there is much more to the story and Brooke holds the key. She has been threatened by the man who is involved, but she would do anything to keep Sky safe and holds her tongue.  Sky knows that she's holding back but doesn't push.  Will all secrets be revealed?

I honestly loved this book.  I didn't want to put it down and finished it quickly.  The historical information at the end of the book was also very interesting.  I also have the second book in the series, High Desert Oasis, which is the story of Sky's cousin, Jason.  I look forward to reading it.  There are two other books in this series.  Book 3 is Fair Valley Refuge, which is about Sky's brother.  Book 4 is Spring Meadow Sanctuary and follows Sky's sister, Sharyah.  I've placed both of them on my watch list and look forward to reading them in the future.  Good Book!

Maggie's Journey (McKenna's Daughters #1) - Lena Dooley Nelson

Six down, one to go in my New Author Month books!  This one had an unusual topic and it caught my interest.

Maggie doesn't know it, but she has been adopted.  Her mother gave birth on the wagon train to triplets and then died.  Overcome with grief, her father gives away two of the children to be adopted. Florence has always wanted a child, but God hadn't answered that prayer to her satisfaction.  Now Maggie feels that her mother is trying to push her into a mold and be someone that she's not.  The tensions get extremely high when Maggie wears a dress that belonged to her mother at her eighteenth birthday party.  When Maggie finds the dress, she also finds the adoption papers.

Maggie has been wanting to go to Arkansas and meet her grandmother for a long time. Her parents finally agree, and Maggie is glad, because she needs the time to gather her feelings and decide how she feels about being lied to her entire life.  The good news is that her childhood friend, Charles, and her aunt are coming with her to chaperone.  Maggie wants Charles to see that she's grown up and not his little sister, but a woman.

Charles, on the other hand, takes one look at Maggie's aunt and is completely smitten. On the long train ride from Seattle, Maggie has to watch Charles flirt shamelessly with her aunt while watching her hopes dashed and her heart ripped out.

I'll admit that I skipped most of the second half of this book.  I was completely annoyed with the "relationship" between the aunt and Charles.  I realize that she was only 31 and that's not too old to get married to Charles number-wise, but the thought that he was pursuing a peer's aunt was creepy in thought and it kept bothering me.  I also wasn't a big fan of the incredible detail of the trip itself.  I normally like learning about things like that, but I'm not sure what it was about this book that put me off.  I think it was the overabundance of detail.

There are two more books in the series, one for each of the other two daughters.  Mary's Blessing is book two and follows the other adopted daughter.  The third book, Catherine's pursuit, came out in February.  I don't plan on tracking them, I have too many books that I'm tracking already and I wasn't involved in this book the way I wanted to be.  If you're looking to find out a lot about rail travel back when it wasn't necessarily comfortable, this would be a great book for you.  For some reason, I just had too many issues getting into it.

No Safe Harbor (Edge of Freedom #1) - Elizabeth Ludwig

This is my 5th book for new author month.  At one point, I put it off to the side thinking that I wouldn't finish it, but I committed to new author month and decided that it was important for me to finish it.

Cara only has her brother left in this world and thought that he was dead as well until she gets a letter from him telling her that he's alive and he's in trouble.  Warning her not to trust anyone, she makes her way to America to find her brother.

Rourke is on a quest to avenge his father's death.  Holding Cara's brother responsible, he decides to get close to Cara.  He needs to find out what she really knows and see if she knows exactly where her brother is hiding.  As time goes by, he realizes that he's more interested in creating a future with Cara than avenging his father.

I have to admit that it was wrong of me to give up on this book.  At the time, it seemed like I kept reading the same interactions between Rourke and Cara over and over where neither one would trust the other with their secrets and lied to each other.  It was frustrating.  When I picked it back up, I felt that they were starting to trust each other more.

This actually turned out to be a good book.  I was somewhat disappointed at the end and immediately went and looked up if there was a sequel.  Dark Road Home will be out in August and is the story of Ana from the boardinghouse and Eoghan (pronounced Owen). This particular book can be read alone, but I have the feeling that you'll get more of the brother/sister relationship in book 2.  I hope so anyway!  I've put it on my watch list and think it will end up being another good read.  Good Book!

McKenzie (Montana Skies #1) - Penny Zeller

This is one of my "new author month" books.

McKenzie is desperate to save her sister, Kaydie.  Kaydie ran off with a man who turned out to be an abusive bank robber.  McKenzie knows that she needs to save her sister and comes up with a plan to become a mail-order bride so that she has the funds and support to search for her sister in Montana.

Zach wants a help mate, someone who will share in his journey of life and be a mother to his adopted son, Davey.  The man has a heart of gold and has no idea that McKenzie plans on finding her sister and getting back to Boston.

McKenzie is an irritating brat for most of the book.  I almost put it down a few times, but I wanted to see if she became a true wife to poor Zach.  There are moments in there where there are flashbacks or daydreams.  The daydreams are written as if they really happened and are a little distracting that way.  After a while, I skipped them all together.

I'm glad that I made it to the end of this book.  It was an enjoyable read and sets you up for the story of Kaydie in book 2.  I think that if it popped up for free, I might pick it up, but I won't be tracking it at this time.  Decent Book!

Secrets of the Heart (The Ravensmoore Chronicles #1) - Jillian Kent

My third book for new author month was another historical Christian fiction.  I think all the ones I picked are going to fall into this category.

Madeline lost her father over a year ago by freak accident.  She blames the doctors and believes that all of them are monsters and butchers.  When she hurts her arm during a hunt, her friend leaves her no choice but to be attended to by a doctor.  The problem is that this is the same doctor that watched her father bleed out. She can never betray her father's memory by being friendly to him, even though she is attracted to him.

Devlin is the second son of an earl, so he has decided to follow God's calling and become a physician.  Circumstances change and he is now the earl but hasn't abandoned his calling.  He is attracted to Madeline, but knows that she's upset with him over the death of her father.  She doesn't have all the facts about his death but hopes that his behavior to her will overcome her anger towards him.

There's a lot to this story.  You get a glimpse of the inside of the insane asylums and doctoring methods of the period.  The subplots involving Madeline's mother and the escaped woman from the asylum are interesting as well.  The plot was easy to read and flowed well.  I wasn't sure what the point was between Part 1 and Part 2; it could have just been the next chapter and still been fine, but whatever.

Madeline irritated me most of the book, but she grew on me some toward the end.  This book reminded me of an old gothic romance novel.  If you've never read one of those, they usually have a woman in flowing skirt running away from a castle.  The women in these books are known for not making the best decisions and missing the obvious. Madeline was a lot like that!

There are two more novels in the series that follow Devlin's two sisters.  Chameleon is book 2 and it follows Victoria.  Mystery of the Heart, book 3, which just came out in January, follows Mercy.  I placed both of them on my watch list and hope they drop in price soon!  Good Book!

Heart of Gold - Lacy Williams

This novella was up for free and looked to be right up my alley.  When I picked it up, I didn't realize it was a novella, but it was a quick read.  This is my second read for new author month.

Opal is returning home to Wyoming with the intentions of getting some money from her father.  Her passion back east is an orphanage and if her father doesn't help her, she is considering marrying a man she doesn't love to get the money she needs.

Charlie works for Opal's father and isn't impressed with her on first appearance.  She immediately asks about gold in a busy area, raising the suspicions of some less than savory characters.  Her poor decision making causes a lot of trouble.

This was a quick, enjoyable read.  Most of the other books written by this author are Love Inspired books.  They appear to be the Christian version of the skinny Harlequin books, just without all the smut.  Most of them are affordable and I am not tracking any of hers at this time.  Heart of Gold is still up for free.  If you've got a couple hours and don't have much to read, it's not a bad way to spend your time.  Good Book!

Mellington Hall - Meredith Resce

This is the first book of new author month.  Almost all the books were free.  This particular author is Australian and has been publishing books down there since 1997.

Sarah is minding the house alone when she comes across a bleeding man.  Propriety would dictate that she leave him there and summon help, but unfortunately the weather causes her to make the more unconventional choice and drag him back to her home on a sled.  She spends the next week nursing him back to health and struggling to stay alive. When the wood runs out, cold sets in and she is forced to make a decision.  Does she follow propriety and let him freeze to death or do they share her body warmth?  She makes the more practical decision but is caught by a self-righteous neighbor who is more than ready to smear her reputation.

Someone wants Alan dead.  Quite possibly it could be his own brother.  While he is grateful to the woman who has saved his life, he knows that there can never be anything between them.  He has a much higher social standing than she does.  When she saves his life yet again, he still thinks that there is some way of clearing her reputation without having to marry her.  It takes him an annoying amount of time to see what his choices are doing to her.

The story itself was okay.  I did have issues with the point of view, though.  It was written in the omniscient point of view, where the author ended up switching whose head we were in numerous times.  We would be in Sarah's head and then we would pop into her Dad's head for a paragraph and then back to Sarah.  To me, that style of writing messes with the flow of the story.

Overall, the  core of the story was decent, and I didn't have any issues reading through it in a timely manner.  There were elements of it that didn't make much sense, but I read past them.  The writing style wasn't to my liking and I don't think I'll pick up any more by this author.