The River Girl's Christmas (Texas Women of Spirit #4) - Angela Castillo

This is the fourth story in this series.  It's not a book, coming in at around 100 pages, but it does update you on the characters from the first two books, Zillia and Soonie.  The first three books in the series are also on the short side, each of them around 200 pages.  The books are The River Girl's Song, The Comanche Girl's Prayer and The Saloon Girl's Journey.

It's getting close to Christmas, and Soonie is travelling with her husband, Lone Warrior, to visit her family.  On the way, Lone Warrior gets shot and getting him help is going to be difficult.  Zillia's thoughts are tied up with worrying about her friend, but there's a little girl that needs her help.

At first I thought this would be on the sappy side, with tear-filled reunions and too much happiness.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a story with aspects of action and adventure.  I mean, there is the sappy Christmas part, it had to be in there, but it isn't overdone, and I really enjoyed it.

This was probably my second favorite of the series, the first being The Comanche Girl's Prayer.  I think it's cheating a bit to call it a "book," but as long as you realize you're in for a shorter story, I believe this is worth a read.  Good Story!

The Saloon Girl's Journey (Texas Women of Spirit #3) - Angela Castillo

This is the third book in the series.  The others are The River Girl's Song and The Comanche Girl's Prayer.  There's another story after this one called The River Girl's Christmas.

Darla is trying to rebuild her life.  She's at a home for "unfortunates" and trying to follow the rules.  Ethan is the owner's son, and he is drawn to Darla from the beginning.  Darla feels the same, but she believes Ethan could never love her if he found out about her past.  To keep her secret, she runs away when a man threatens to expose her.

This book was okay.  It reminded me of the way I felt about the first book, like it was more of a "journey" than a full romance.  Darla is learning to not make assumptions about people and that she's worthy to be accepted for who she is - and not just by Ethan.  I found it odd that Darla was so suspicious of everyone that was kind to her, especially after she joined the medicine show.  She was the one who went running to them, after all.

Compared to the others, I'd have to say that so far, I've enjoyed The Comanche Girl's Prayer the best.  This one has me on the fence.  For a romance, there wasn't much interaction between the characters to get me invested in their relationship.  As a journey, it's a pretty good tale, but it wasn't one of my favorites.  This is another one of those "diet" books, coming in under 200 pages.

Lone Wolf - Loree Lough - DTB

As the church librarian, every once in a while a donation will come in that I decide to read.  This one looked like a light, quick read, and the summary on the back was interesting.

Kent was accused and punished for a crime he didn't commit.  After ten years of hard labor, he's rebuilding his life.  His journey takes him to Virginia, where he becomes the foreman of a ranch.  There he meets Abby, a spunky young woman who captures his attention.  Kent's sworn off women, but Abby pushes his walls down and invades his heart.  He tries to keep his distance, knowing his secret would cause him to lose the one thing that means anything to him now: Abby's good opinion.

This was definitely a diet book, coming in at just over 150 pages.  It's also very light plot-wise. No real dangers or villains to speak of.  Basically, you're just waiting to see what happens when Abby finds out about Kent's secret.  It's definitely a Christian book, with some preachy moments sprinkled here and there.  Overall, if you're looking for a quick read with a happy ending, this book might do the trick.

 

True As Fate (Ashford Chronicles #2) - Laurie Alice Eakes

This is the second book in the series.  The first book is called My Enemy, My Heart.

Chloe is the guardian of her family.  Once, she had been in love with Ross, but his affections turned to her sister, Juliet.  Now Juliet is planning to run away with Ross, but once the family discovers he's been branded a traitor, things change.  Chloe goes to a meeting set up between her sister and Ross, and he ends up captured, Juliet is kidnapped, and Chloe decides she's going to fix it all.  Whether Ross likes it or not, Chloe's coming along to the ransom exchange.

Chloe's guilty conscience and love for her sister fuel her determination, but she tries not to let her feelings for Ross show.  In the past, she was responsible for him being imprisoned on a hulk.  Now that there is no evidence he was imprisoned, his loyalty has been questioned.  She feels that she owes him a debt of freedom, and she'll do whatever it takes to see that it happens.

The more time they spend together, Ross discovers that Chloe is a remarkable woman, but his memories of Juliet cause him to try and focus on her rescue.  Their lives are put in danger, but they're determined to save Juliet.

I liked this book so much, I read it all in one day.  I really liked both Ross and Chloe's characters.  Kieran and Deirdre from My Enemy, My Heart show up, and the story is something of a continuation, since Ross and Chloe show up in that first book.  I don't think it's necessary to read the first book before picking this one up, but I think you'll get a more complete tale.  At the time of this review, I haven't found evidence of a third book, but I suspect we'll be reading about Juliet sometime in the near future.  Good Book!

Heart on the Line (Ladies of Harper's Station #2) - Karen Witemeyer

This is the second book in the series.  First is the novella, Worth the Wait, and then the first novel, No Other Will Do.

Grace saw her father brutally murdered in the middle of a street protecting a dangerous secret.  Right before he died, he signaled for Grace to take the evidence and run.  She does as she’s told and ends up in Harper’s Station.  There, she keeps her secrets to herself, but she makes a friend over the telegraph wire, Mr. A.

Amos is considered strange in his town.  With his glasses and obsession with his bicycle, the women don’t give him a second look.  He feels more confident when he’s talking to Miss G over the wires.  He’s drawn to her, even though he knows it’s silly since he’s never met her.  But when he “overhears” she’s in danger, he drops everything and heads for Harper’s Station.

Normally, I can’t say enough about how much I love this author’s books, but this wasn’t one of my favorites.  I didn’t connect with the main characters like I usually do for some reason.  I really liked the interactions between Helen and her patient, but that wasn’t the main story line, so I didn’t enjoy the book as much as some of the others by this author.

Is this one of my favorite books by this author?  No.  Is it still a good book?  Yes.  Usually, I finish this author’s books in two days, because I just can’t put them down.  I wasn’t able to say that with this one, but I didn’t have any issues getting through it.  It’s a sweet love story with some danger mixed in there.  I believe you’d be able to read these out of order without any issues.  Good Book.

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

With You Always (Ophan Train #1) - Jody Hedlund

This is the first book in the series.  There’s a prequel novella, An Awakened Heart, telling the story of the couple who run the mission where Elise and her family live.  It’s not necessary to read that one to understand what’s going on in this story.

First off, if you’re expecting a story about orphans being taken west from the slums on trains, you’re going to be disappointed.  The series title “Orphan Train” isn’t reflective of the story itself.  There’s a complicated reason it’s called Orphan Train.  It has to do with the Children’s Aid Society using the trains not only transport orphans out west, but women were placed in jobs along the route as well.  I found the discrepancy somewhat annoying.

Elise is trying to keep her family together, but things are getting rough in New York.  The mission that she’s staying at with her two sisters and two other little ones is on the verge of shutting down.  It seems her only hope is to get a job out west and send money back to her family.  She meets Thornton Quincy during a riot and is surprised to see him on the same train.

What Thornton doesn’t tell Elise is that he owns the town she’ll be working in (after he arranges for it to happen), and he’s trying to win a competition against his twin brother.  To win, he not only has to build a town, he has to marry a woman he loves.  There’s a society lady waiting for him in New York, but he can’t deny how attracted he is to Elise.  As she opens his eyes to the trials of the people working for him, he becomes the man he was meant to be.  But he really wants to win and earn his father’s favor.

This was a pretty good book, and you’re not only reading about Thornton and Elise, but Marianne (her sister) as well.  She’s been left behind to try and take care of the rest of the family until Elise can send help.  As things continue to deteriorate, Marianne struggles.  There’s a lot of internal struggles with all the characters, which can make things tedious at times, but overall, Good Book!

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

Murder at the Courthouse (Hidden Springs Mysteries #1) - A. H. Gabhart

I wanted to read this book, because in the past, I had read a book by this author and was pleasantly surprised.  I don't read a TON of mysteries, but I do enjoy them and read them somewhat often.

This is the first in the series.  The other two books are Murder Comes by Mail and Murder Is No Accident.

There's a body on the courthouse steps in the small town of Hidden Springs.  Michael is the deputy with experience in the big city, so he's being depended on to find the murderer.  The problem is, no one in town seems to know who the victim is or what he was doing in town.  Everyone seems to be hiding something and solving the case will bring up Michael's own painful past.

The word that immediately comes to mind with this book: slow.  Right at the beginning, we have the discovery on the courthouse steps.  But then nothing really interesting happens until the halfway mark of the book.  For me, the best part was probably the middle to ALMOST the end.  After the mystery is solved, the story drags on again until there's finally an ending.

I didn't like how slow the plot moved.  I felt like I was forcing myself to read this book, and maybe I would've been better off giving up, but I did make it.  I also didn't like the way the author handled the "romance."  I felt more interested in the story when Alex was in the picture, but she wasn't in there enough.  All in all, after putting this one down, I didn't look forward to picking it back up.