Wings of a Dream - Anne Mateer

As I was getting down to my last few Kindle books, I saw this one pop up for free and decided to give this new author a chance.  I was a little wary since some reviews had said that the book was pretty sad.

Rebekah longs for adventure and thinks that she has found that in the form of Arthur, an aviator who is leaving Oklahoma for Texas. She hasn't known him very long, but he puts butterflies in her stomach and provides an escape from the suitors that her mother seems to think suitable for her.

A telegram arrives informing them that Rebekah's aunt, Adabelle, is ill with influenza and Rebekah offers to go to Texas and look after her.  Rebekah's plan is to help out her aunt and then enlist her help in getting to Arthur.  What she finds upon arrival in Texas is not at all what she expects. With her aunt on death's door and four children in the house, it looks like Rebekah's dreams will be put on hold. It seems that Aunt Adabelle is looking after the children while their father is in France.

Arthur isn't what he seems to be and the sheriff in town seems to be sweet on Rebekah. She doesn't feel anything for him but friendship, but wonders if he might actually be what God had in mind for her life.  The sheriff wants to be a Texas Ranger and that would grant her the measure of adventure she craved, wouldn't it?

This story is very complex and interesting.  It's told from the first person, which is not the norm for what I read, but I found it a nice change and it helped me relate to the character more.  There is a lot of sadness in this one.  It is written around the end of the first World War and on top of that, it coincides with the epidemic of the Spanish flu.

I liked the characters and the plot.  For some reason, the sadness didn't bother me as much as it normally did.  I think it might have something to do with the fact that we don't really get to know the characters that die very well.  If you don't like books with a lot of death, you might want to avoid it.  The only small qualm I had with it was the ending. It just seemed a little abrupt.  The author released another book at the beginning of September, At Every Turn.  I have put it on my watch list. It seems like another good read. Good Book!

Hannah Grace (The Daughters of Jacob Kane #1) - Sharlene MacLaren - DTB

This book has been on my watch list for a while, but I didn't read it on my Kindle. Someone was kind enough to donate this book to my church library and I read it in DTB form.  Let me just tell you something: I am spoiled.  I missed being able to read while I folded laundry and I found it incredibly annoying to have to hold the book the entire time!  I am so spoiled...

I've read one other book by this author, Loving Liza Jane, which is book 1 in the Little Hickman Series.  I have the rest of that series as well as this series on my watch list.

Hannah Grace feels that she is the least pretty of her sisters.  She works in her father's general store and is practically engaged the town doctor.  The only thing he seems to be in love with is himself, but Hannah refuses to see that she doesn't love him.

Gabe is the town's new sheriff and he arrives in town with a little surprise.  Jesse, a scruffy looking little boy, has hidden in the back of Gabe's wagon.  When Gabe tries to buy the little boy some new clothes, Hannah sees the bruises on the boy and suspects the worst. Once she finds out that he's the sheriff and he has the best intentions, the two join forces.  Hannah takes care of Jesse during the day and Gabe takes him home at night.

Jesse isn't talking because he's on the run from a gang of criminals.  He witnessed a murder and the gang knows that he saw them.  They've been trying to track him down and make sure that he'll never be able to testify.  The gang is heading to Gabe's quiet town.

I enjoyed this book.  It was an engaging story that I would have had a harder time putting down had it been on my Kindle.  Since it was a normal book, I was forced to put it down more than I wanted to.  I hope that other books by this author drop in price.  She seems to be a really good author and I would like to be able to read more from her.  Good Book!

Tall, Dark, and Determined (Husbands for Hire #2) - Kelly Eileen Hake

I read the first book in this series, Rugged and Relentless, about a year ago and planned on putting the next one on my watch list, but at that time, it had no ASIN number and I subsequently forgot to keep an eye out for it.  As I was browsing through the price drops on eReaderIQ, I saw this one and picked it up for less than $5.

This is the continuing story of Lacey, Evie, Cora and Naomi, who have come to the wilderness to start up the town of Hope Falls.  The mine collapse has left Lacey's brother, who is also Cora's fiance, a broken man, both physically and emotionally.  Evie has found love, but the other women are slow to give their approval of the marriage.  All marriages are to have a vote and Jake hasn't quite passed the test since he has not been especially forthcoming about who he is.

Chase has come to town trying to find out what happened at the mine.  The collapse has left his sister's husband dead and left her destitute.  He's after the truth of what happened and suspects that everything is not what it seems in Hope Falls.  He suspects that the women are involved and that they have an impostor in the house recovering.  If he's not an impostor, it must mean that Braden was somehow involved in the collapse of the mine. Not wanting to believe that they are capable of it, he keeps finding evidence that seems to point to his theories.

Lacey is a major hurdle to his investigations.  She always seems to find a way to get under his skin and they spend more time fighting than getting along.  Lacey feels betrayed by her friends when they go behind her back and hire Chase on to keep an eye on the town while Jake takes the man who killed his brother back to Maine.

The two are barely able to find common ground and most conversations end up in arguments.  Assumptions and misunderstandings are abundant.  Lacey is frustrated that using her womanly wiles on Chase doesn't work and Chase's blunt statements of truth are sometimes hard to take.  The more he believes his absurd theories, the reader knows that it's all going to go badly when he reveals them to the others.  I found myself cringing once or twice.

I did enjoy the book, but I have to admit to getting a little annoyed with Lacey on more than one occasion.  In fact, there were a lot of times that she was showing just how naive she was or speaking her mind without really thinking about what she was saying, even to her friends.  If she didn't get her way, it was more of a 'woe is me' attitude.  Once she kind of got her act together, I wasn't as irritated.

In the end, I did like this book.  The continuing story of the reason for the mine collapse is the reason that I recommend that these books be read in order.  A lot of the important issues from the first book are included as flashbacks in this book, but I would still recommend reading Rugged and Relentless first.  The third book in the series, Strong and Stubborn, is available November 1 and is on my watch list.  It's the story of Naomi, the oldest of the women, finding love.  I look forward to reading it.  Good Book!

Plains of Promise (Wyoming #2) - Colleen Coble

This is one of Colleen Coble's older books that are being released digitally and since I enjoyed Where Leads the Heart, I was glad to be able to continue the series.  This one was available for $2.99.

Emmie is the sister of Ben Croftner, the villain of the first book.  Emmie has been trying to escape from the reputation of her family her entire life.  She finally feels like she has someone who loves her for who she is, marries him and settles down to enjoy her life.  A tragic carriage accident kills her husband and his real widow shows up on her doorstep.  Discovering that she wasn't really married and has no means of support, Emmie finds out about Sarah, (our heroine from book 1) who needs a companion and helper while she is pregnant.

Emmie travels west and fits in well.  A handsome officer, Isaac (also introduced in the first book) appears to be interested in Emmie, but after what she has been through, she wants to have nothing to do with men ever again.  Her heart doesn't want to live without love and so she is forced to deal with her past.

A promise made without thinking it through is what ends up tripping up Emmie in this story.  She never thought that she would have to follow through when she made it and when it seems like she's going to have to, she is sad to learn that she may not have the happiness that she has so recently found.

I did enjoy this book, but I have to say that I wish that Isaac had been a little more developed.  We learned so much about Emmie and there were glimpses of Isaac, but not enough in my opinion.  There were a lot of repeat characters from the first book, and for that reason, I think that this series should be read in order.  The next book, The Heart Answers, is not available yet.  I'm going to keep my eyes open for more of this author's books to pop up digitally.  Good Book!

Gentleman of Her Dreams - Jen Turano

I decided the read this free novella to see if I wanted to add this author's upcoming release, A Change of Fortune, to my price drop list.

Charlotte has asked God for a husband, and she thinks that He has answered in the form of Hamilton Beckett, a widower with children.  Charlotte has a tendency to get herself into trouble - a lot.  Her antics have even landed her best friend, Henry, in jail in the past.

As Charlotte begins to put her plan to win Hamilton's heart into action, Henry returns from being away for two years.  Believing that Mr. Beckett is what Charlotte really wants, he vows to help her any way he can, even though his feelings for her are more than friendly.

These two have the most unbelievable things happen to them.  I found that I could deal with the ridiculous situations with no issues, although I have my doubts about the "boat" scene on the Hudson River.  I don't think a boat in that shape would have made it very far without the problems they encounter.  It didn't really bother me though.

The part that bothered me was the moment Henry picks to tell Charlotte his true feelings.  I had to go back and read it about three times trying to figure out what set him off.  I'm still not 100% sure.  I also find it hard to believe that being friends since they were 4, neither of them let on that they were in love with each other.  Henry left because he started to feel like a burden to her because she sighed when it was their turn to dance.  I can't believe that he wouldn't make some sort of comment, "Oh, so you don't wish to dance?" or something along those lines, even in a joking manner.  These two seem to tease each other all the time.  Instead he leaves for two years?

We do get introduced briefly to the heroine of A Change of Fortune, Lady Eliza Sumner.  I went ahead and put it on my watch list.  There is an excerpt from the novel at the end of this novella, so it's worth it just to give the novel a try.  Overall, I did like this story, but I'm a hopeless romantic, so even though I have some reservations about the reveal, I did enjoy reading this.  Good Novella!

Walker's Wedding - Lori Copeland

I picked this one up for less than $5.  I can usually depend on this author to give me a good read.

We begin by reading about how little Walker wants to think about marriage.  His friend is telling him that he needs an heir for his ranch, but Walker feels like he has all the time in the world to worry about that.  Immediately after proclaiming about how much time he has, he gets horribly gored by a bull.  Rethinking his mortality causes him to send for a mail-order bride.  Who it is matters little, only the fact that she can bear children.

Sarah has wanted to be married since she was a little girl.  She has just been rescued from a marriage to a man that she's known for a short period of time.  Her father has had enough of her shenanigans and is sending her to her uncle's.  He's an evil man who locks her in a room if she does the smallest thing wrong.  Sarah sneaks away and decides to take a train to New York, but on the ride she meets the intended bride of Walker, who is weeping because she has no desire to marry this man.

Sarah sees this as her opportunity to finally get married, the one thing she has wanted. They trade places and Sarah arrives in town and marries Walker, who barely notices that the name of his bride has changed.  Sarah keeps secret the fact that she has run away from home and that she wasn't sent by the mail-order bride agency.  Walker has been betrayed by a woman in the past and Sarah is afraid of the consequences of telling the truth.

I did enjoy this book.  The price went down even more after I purchased it, but I don't mind too much.  The only issue that I had with the story had to be the villain of the tale.  He really didn't make that much sense at the end.  He was really evil there for a little bit, but magically seemed to grow a conscience.  It was just weird how quick he went from villain to coward.  Other than that, it was a cute little story and I liked the characters.  Good Book!

Veil of Pearls - MaryLu Tyndall

This was a book that I picked up for $1.99 when the price dropped.  I have read two of the books in her Surrender to Destiny series, Surrender the Night being the only one that I have a review for.  I thoroughly enjoyed those and felt like I had found a new author.

We begin with Althea escaping her cruel master on a plantation in Barbados.  He has her ankles in chains so that she is unable to run, but this night has the perfect circumstances for her escape.  A gruff, but not evil captain sees her circumstances and helps her to escape to Charleston.  Changing her name to Adalia, she now has to find some kind of employment and pray that she is never found.

Morgan is a plantation owner and a bit spoiled.  He doesn't realize that slavery is a bad thing and Adalia thinks that she is the one to teach him and bring him back to God.  Morgan is entranced by this common woman who is immune to all his charms.  He eventually gets her to attend some parties and events with him, where his friends are less than happy to see a commoner, especially a lady that has had her cap set for Morgan for a long time.

Adalia works for a pious doctor that reads his Bible all the time but yells at his servants like they are nothing. Adalia, being one-fourth African American, sees the wrongs in slavery, but since she passes as a white woman, she never reveals her heritage.  She falls in love with Morgan, and he with her, with all her secrets between them.  Nefarious people push the issue to where it has to be dealt with.

I have to admit that I was happy when I was done with this book, and not because I enjoyed it.  It was one of those that I trudged through just to see what happened at the end.  I really didn't like the holier-than-thou character of Althea/Adalia.  She spouted God at Morgan while she had stuffed Him into a corner herself.  Acting like she had it all together, she would almost make wrong decisions and a man in a white suit would magically appear and spout Scripture at her before disappearing.  Something about those encounters just didn't sound right.

I have taken the other books by this author that I was tracking off my list, save one.  The third book in the Surrender to Destiny series I will still watch for.  I really did enjoy the first two.  I had thought that maybe this was one of her earlier books, the writing didn't seem to flow very well, but ultimately it's her latest book.  This one just wasn't my cup of tea.