A Lesson in Love and Murder (Herringford and Watts #2) - Rachel McMillan

This is the second book in the series.  The series itself is a little different as there are a lot more novellas attached to it than I'm used to.  Before the first book is a novella called A Singular and Whimsical Problem.  Then there's the first book,  The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder.  Then we have another novella, Of Dubious and Questionable Memory, followed by this book.  Next year, there's a novella (which is free for pre-order right now), Conductor of Light, that comes out the end of January, leading up to the third book, called The White Feather Murders, out in May 2017.

Jemima and Merinda are still detecting, even though things have changed somewhat.  Ray and Jemima are trudging along, poor as they can be with Ray sending his sister in Chicago money and a new addition on the way.  Merinda doesn't know about this at first and is anxious to get Jem to help her with a new case.  This time, they're dealing with explosions, anarchists and a handsome Mountie searching for his wayward cousin.

Their pursuit of truth will cause them to cross the border and infiltrate the group of anarchists to discover what they're planning.  The whole gang ends up down there, one way or another, and even Ray's good-for-nothing brother-in-law is involved in the criminal activity.

I really like McMillan's writing style and love the little footnotes, even though they don't always work correctly.  I've taken to bookmarking the page I'm on in case the footnote at the end of the chapter doesn't lead me right back where I was.  Besides that, I love the characters and was especially rooting for Jasper this time.  I'll be anxiously awaiting the next story   Good Book!

The Isaac Project - Sarah Monzon

This was a freebie I picked up, wanting to try something new.

Rebekah's grandfather is dying.  She knows that he wants to see her married, so she comes up with the idea of re-enacting the Isaac and Rebekah story from the Bible.  She enlists the help of her friend to find her a man - and fast.  Luke is a firefighter who hears about Rebekah and agrees to the idea after a troubling dream.

I made it almost halfway before I put it down.  I don't read many books that are in first person, and I find it harder to get into these kinds of stories when people are "thinking" things that don't make sense.  For instance, Luke is fighting a fire and takes the time to think about (and explain) his SCBA.  It didn't seem realistic, and while the story may have had some potential, it just wasn't for me.

My Enemy, My Heart (The Ashford Chronicles #1) - Laurie Alice Eakes

I chose this as my Kindle Unlimited title for the month.  I purposely waited for the title to be released, since I looked forward to reading it.

This is the first book in The Ashford Chronicles series.  The second book is called True as Fate and is due out June 2017.

Deirdre has grown up living on a ship.  During the War of 1812, this is dangerous.  When her father's ship is captured and her father dies suddenly, she finds herself at the mercy of her enemy.

Kieran is trying to regain his father's respect.  He's hoping that capturing an American ship will be a good start, but then he discovers there's a woman on board.  With his checkered past, he wants to do the right thing and offers to marry her.  He's drawn to her spirit and hopes to earn her trust.

This relationship seems doomed from the start, but they are attracted to one another. Their split loyalties continue to divide them over and over, but one of the main problems is that Kieran is a dolt.  As I read the book, I thought it more than once, and his own sister called him one.  He seems to always say the wrong thing, but Deirdre still manages to see past that and fall in love with him, even if she can't admit it most of the time.  The problem is, freeing her crew will force her to choose between her husband and her "family."

I liked this book and look forward to the next one.  It looks like we'll be getting to know Chloe and Ross better, and for that I'm glad.  They show up a lot in this book, especially Chloe, so I can't say for certain whether reading these alone or out of order will work.  I can't wait for the next one and will definitely be keeping an eye out for it.  Good Book!

Finding Margo (Finding Home #1) - Jen Turano

This is the first book in a new series, Finding Home.

Jen Turano is on my list of favorite authors.  She’s able to infuse such depth into her characters, and the story is always well written.  In the past, she’s focused more on historical fiction, so I was a little wary of this contemporary story.  In my experience, when authors I love change direction, it’s a toss-up whether I end up enjoying it.

Margo has gotten overwhelmed with the pop star life and run away from California.  An encounter with a duck (I know, it sounds strange but stay with me) lands her in an Amish community in Ohio.  She doesn’t want to be recognized, but the people in this town don’t recognize her as a pop star, they see someone else.

Brock has taken leave from the FBI to investigate the death of his sister.  He doesn’t believe she committed suicide and is determined to discover the truth.  The problem is, he’s not finding anything.  He comes across Margo and wants to protect her.  He feels like he failed his sister, but he’s determined not to fail Margo.

I don’t want to say too much about the main story, because I don’t want to reveal any of the secrets.  Without knowing any of them ahead of time, it will let you discover the truth along with the characters, and I think that’s the best way to read this story.

First off, I have to commend Turano for changing directions.  I didn’t know if I would like this story, but her characters and ability to tell a great story had me convinced.  I loved both Brock and Margo, along with Gabby and Mrs. Hershberger.

There’s a lead-in at the end of this one that’s going to have you dying to read the next book about a woman named Raven.  I’m pretty sure you’re going to want to read this one before the next one, just to get the background, but I can’t say for sure.  Turano is a great writer, and maybe she’ll have them be able to be read separate.  Regardless, I recommend this book.  It’s awesome, and I can’t wait for the next one!  Great Book!

*I received a copy of this book from Gilead Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Dead Peasants File (Dead Peasants' Series #1) - L. Craig Harris

Dillon has been tasked with hunting down an employee that has stolen money from the company.  Working as a security guard at the nation's leading superstore, he does what he's told.  When he catches up to his prey, he's surprised to hear the man is afraid for his life.  Dillon is sympathetic but delivers the man as asked.  A few hours later, the man is dead, and Dillon wants answers.

The path he's taking is a dangerous one, where bullets fly freely to guard the biggest secret the company has: it kills its employees for the insurance money.  Dillon can't expose the company alone and ends up being helped by a pastor who's struggling financially and some people that used to work for the company.  There are men who will kill to keep the list a secret, and making it out alive isn't going to be easy.

This story was just too unrealistic to make sense.  I don't care how big your company is, there's going to be some sort of investigation when people are shooting guns everywhere. And I didn't understand why everyone's first thought was to go find people in different states instead of just calling them, especially when the characters weren't sure if these people were still in the same place.  There were other minor things I had a hard time with.

One of these was the whole scene where the security guard (from a superstore) had a gun and chased down a shoplifting couple in a car.  There was a gun fight and car wreck. The guard was worried about proving they were thieves, so he had to find evidence in their car.  The store has bar codes to identify which employee walks through the door, but they don't have security cameras?  There were just a bunch of times when I stopped reading and said, "What?"

I can't tell you how surprised I was to read that the author had a degree in journalism and had been a writer for a newspaper for 20 years.  This was definitely not the caliber of writing I would have expected from someone with that history.  The flow of the story suffered from long paragraphs of narration, and the grammar was lacking in many places. Every time a character was introduced, there was an entire paragraph describing everything about them, and sometimes there were added bits of backstory that were irrelevant to the overall tale.  I think the main concept of the book had potential, the story just didn't get there.  It wasn't for me.

The Call of Cthulhu (Short Story) - H. P. Lovecraft

This isn't a full review of a book, since for now I've only read one story out of it.  Let me tell you why...

I love board games.  A few years back, in an effort to find more common interests with my girls, I started looking into board games that were a little more complex than Monopoly and Life.  As a result, we now have a whole bunch of games.  When I research games, I come across certain themes, and it seems like every game out there that can have a Cthulhu theme, has one.  I might be one of the only people left who hasn't read this story, but I finally got curious enough to check it out.

This is the story of a man who has come into possession of his uncle's research.  The notes lead him to believe there might be more in this world than we can imagine.  It starts off with a man who is plagued by dreams, then the next clue comes from a policeman, and finally the story is told through the journal of a dead sailor.

I was surprised how much I liked this story.  There are some seriously long paragraphs in there, but the descriptions were wonderful and the tension buildup was masterfully done. This isn't the sort of story that I'm usually drawn to, so for me to enjoy this as much as I did was impressive to me and a testament to the skill of the author.

I do plan on reading more of Lovecraft in the future, but it's going to be something I have to be in the mood to read.  For now, it's enough for me to know what all those board games are hyped up about!  The version I picked up (pictured below) is free and has all Lovecraft's stories in there.  If this kind of story is something you enjoy and you haven't read this author yet, this is definitely worth a peek.  Neat story!

The Silent Songbird - Melanie Dickerson

I really love reading Dickerson’s takes on fairy tales.  This one is inspired by The Little Mermaid.  If you want to see how it relates to other titles, see my other post HERE.

Evangeline just wants to be free.  As the illegitimate granddaughter of King Edward, she is a ward of the current king.  Her life has been sheltered, making her more of a prisoner.  When she’s told she has to marry an evil man, she leaves the castle and seeks life as a peasant.  She’s with her companion, but to avoid detection, they tell everyone that Eva is mute.  She’s drawn to Westley, who she discovers is rich, but she’s trapped in a lie.  She can’t seem to do anything any peasant could do, and she can’t reveal who she is without endangering the people she’s coming to care about.

Westley takes an interest in her, and they soon become friends.  They find ways to communicate, but when Westley’s life is in danger, Eva has to make the choice whether to protect her secret or save a life.  Her choice complicates matters and puts her own future in danger.

This story was pretty great.  I liked Westley’s chivalrous nature and Eva’s take-charge attitude.  I never seem to be disappointed when I pick up one of this author’s books, and this time was no different.  I didn’t really make the connection to The Little Mermaid until I read the Acknowledgement section at the end of the book, but in hindsight, I guess it makes sense.  Good Book!

*I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Refining Fire (Arizona Territory Brides #2) - Carol Cox

I haven't posted a review for a while, I've been catching up on some NetGalley titles. Unfortunately, one of them was hard to get through, so I haven't been reading as much as I normally do.  But now, I'm back!

After reading the first book in this series, Land of Promise, I was anxiously waiting to read this one.  There are two more books that follow this one: Road to Forgiveness and Copper Sunrise.

Jenny is the character that was saved by Michael and Elizabeth in the first book.  She's still getting reminders about her past, so she decides to leave Prescott and move to Tuscon, giving her a chance to start over.  She starts out being the cook for a restaurant and it doesn't take long before she's doing everything.  She expands the business and is capable of running it on her own, but she also has her partner, Evan, to worry about.

Andrew ends up in Tuscon (eventually) and is a partner to Jenny and a man named Red (an older man) in opening a silver mine.  Jenny remembers Andrew from Prescott, and even though he made a good first impression, she's wary of his presence and involvement in her mine.

There was an issue of balance in this book.  Andrew pops up in the very beginning, but then he doesn't show up again until almost halfway through the book.  Then, they have so little interaction that their romance doesn't make sense.  They aren't in love with each other, they seem to be in love with the idea of who the other person is.  Jenny spends more time with Red than she does Andrew.  I just wish there had been a little more "getting to know each other" moments.

A lot is made of Jenny's intellect, she's running a business by herself after all, but then when she learns someone she's trusted has been lying to her, it doesn't occur to her to question everything the liar has told her.  It just didn't make sense when she's so suspicious by nature.

Neither of the people in the next book are mentioned in this one, but I suspect "Jacob" is related to Andrew in some way, since they share a last name.  Either way, you can read this one without reading the first one.  Jenny's past is written out for you in case you missed it.

The writing was good, and I didn't have any issues getting through the story, but with a romance, there should be some kind of relationship that forms, and if you're calling the series "Arizona Brides," that tells me there's a romance in there somewhere.  This one just wasn't one of my favorites by this author.