A Talent for Trouble (Ladies of Distinction #3) - Jen Turano

In the past, I have been able to read the novella to this series, Gentleman of Her Dreams, and also the first book in the series, A Change of Fortune.  I’ve had the second book, A Most Peculiar Circumstance, on my watch list for quite a while, but haven’t seen a drop in it yet.

Felicia has just had a letdown.  Her secret infatuation with the local reverend, which appears to be no secret at all, has ended with him married to another woman.  For four years, Felicia had altered who she was to try and attract this man’s attentions.  Now that he is gone, Felicia’s mother has seen fit to try and match her up with someone as soon as possible.

Grayson has had a troubled past and has vowed to never marry again.  His past mistakes have made him, in his eyes, unworthy of forgiveness from God and thereby unsuitable as a husband to any young woman.  Problem is, Felicia is both maddening and intriguing at the same time.  While he wants to spare her from his past, saving her from one of the troubles she tends to get into brings his past right to her door.

As with the other books I have read by Jen Turano, this was another great read.  I didn’t feel like I had missed much by having to skip the second book, although mention was made of botched marriage proposals.  Apparently all the men in these books make a mess of their proposals.  Other than that, as long as you realize it’s a happily-ever-after, you’re not going to spoil much by reading them out of order.  I do hope that this series doesn’t follow the usual trilogy format, as we still don’t have resolution for Agatha and I think it would be a great story from a relatively new author.  She’s a great writer and her characters make me smile.  Definitely hope to see more from her!  Good Book!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Traces of Mercy (Mercy Medallion Trilogy #1) - Michael Landon, Jr. & Cindy Kelley

Anyone who has watched many movies on Hallmark channel has heard of Michael Landon, Jr.  The first movie that comes to my mind is Love Comes Softly.  Seeing that he had written a book had me intrigued.  I hadn’t heard of Cindy Kelley, but it looks like they worked together to release a book back in 2009.  Doesn’t look like something I would read, but this title did.

The beginning of the book grabs you right away.  The Confederate sniper that we meet has an unexpected encounter.  When she loses her memory, all she has are the men’s clothes she is wearing and a medallion.  Since she doesn’t remember her name, the nuns she is staying with call her Mercy.

Rand seems like a knight in shining armor.  He is really interested in Mercy and doesn’t care about her past.  His prominent family is concerned about the consequences should Mercy remember she has a husband and family, but Rand seems to think it’s not an issue.

Elijah meets Mercy at a party and feels like he’s met her before.  When he figures out how he knows her, it could put everything that Mercy has planned for her future at risk.  What will she do to keep her dreams alive and what will it cost her?

This was a real page-turner.  Mercy’s amnesia is frustrating for both the character and the reader.  I couldn’t put the book down and just had to know what was going to happen.  I wanted to know if Mercy would find out who she really was.  Would she remember everything?

I have to warn you that this is a trilogy AND you are left with a major cliffhanger at the end of this book.  If you don’t want to be invested in an entire trilogy, you may want to pass, but I must warn you that you’ll be missing out.  I’m not normally a fan of these types of trilogies, but I’m looking forward to the next title in this series.  Good Book!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Rock Harbor Search and Rescue - Colleen Coble

In the past, I have read many of Colleen Coble's books.  I saw this one aimed at a younger crowd and decided to give it a shot.  My daughter read it as well.

Having read the Rock Harbor series, I was pleased to see many characters that I had read about in the past including Bree.  She is the head of the Search and Rescue team in Rock Harbor and influences Emily, Naomi's stepdaughter.  Since this book is aimed for the younger crowd, it made sense to make it about Emily and a great choice.

Emily is 14 and loves to create jewelry.  Since being rescued in the forest by Bree's dog, Samson, she has also been wanting to have a puppy of her own to train for SAR.  She helps out Naomi from time to time and feels like she's ready.  After her parents tell her she can have the puppy she desires once she has the money, she decides to sell some of her jewelry pieces at a festival.  While watching a neighboring booth for a while, one of the lady's more expensive pieces goes missing and it seems like most everyone is ready to blame Emily.  Even her own father doubts her innocence and forces her to hand over her puppy money to the lady.

Poor Emily has so much to deal with.  Her birth mother is due to get out of prison early, everyone thinks she is a thief, and her former best friend is being mean to her every chance she gets.  Emily is determined to prove her innocence, but she only has limited time to get together the money before the puppy is scheduled to be sold.  It's up to her and her best friend, Olivia, to find the true culprit.

I think this was a good read and I enjoyed it.  It had me guessing as to the motive and how Emily would be able to find the culprit and clear her name.  It is listed as ages 8 and up, but as the mother of a 9 and almost 11-year-old, I would up that to at least 10 years old.  I base that on the length and the depth of the writing.  Overall, I was glad I read it and look forward to reading the next one, Rock Harbor Search and Rescue: Lost and Found, which is due out October 8.  Good Book!

My daughter's opinion: " I really liked this book.  I was on the edge of my seat or area the whole time. I read it before my mom so HA!  PEACE!"

A Home for My Heart - Anne Mateer

In the past, I have had the opportunity to read Wings of a Dream and At Every Turn.  I enjoyed those and looked forward to reading this one.

Sadie has been at the Raystown Home for Orphan and Friendless Children since she was very young.  As she grew, she felt like she had to make up for her past.  When the opportunity comes up for her to become the matron of the Home, she agrees.  She's been in love with Blaine for many years and hopes that the pay increase will help them gather the money they need to buy property together faster.  The head of the Home can't be married, but Sadie doesn't see this as a problem since she knows that Blaine needs more time to raise the money he needs.

The problem is that Blaine had planned on surprising Sadie with the land that he has just purchased.  When Sadie is told and breaks the news that she has no plans of going back on her word to run the Home, they feel like they have hit an impasse.  In her efforts to forget Blaine, Sadie tries to fill her head with another man, but she just can't shake her feelings for Blaine.  On top of that, her extra responsibilities at the Home are wearing her down.  Will there be a solution to the problems at the Home as well as her relationship with Blaine?

This was a fairly decent read, but there weren't any surprises.  It was a well written book, but the story line is predictable. I got a little annoyed at the way Sadie treated Blaine over and over again.  While I could appreciate the moral inserted of God's timing being perfect, it didn't end up being one of my favorite books.  It was still a decent read and I'll still be on the lookout for more from this author.  Decent Book!

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

A Whisper of Peace (Heart of the Prairie #7)

I've been working my way through this series, picking and choosing the ones that interest me.  I've been able to read Waiting for Summer's Return, A Promise for Spring, A Hopeful Heart, Courting Miss Amsel, and Song of My Heart.  This series is easily read out of order for the most part.

Lizzie has been excommunicated from her tribe in Alaska.  Now that her mother is dead, she is determined to fulfill her mother's last wish to make peace with her grandmother and then go find her father in San Francisco.

Clay and his stepsister, Vivian, have come to Alaska to bring God's Word to the people. While he is intrigued by Lizzie, visiting with her could jeopardize everything he is attempting to accomplish in the village.  Standing up for himself and the woman he is coming to care about is going to test both of them.

Vivian is fighting her own demons.  Her mother and stepfather doubt her ability to help her brother.  They think that she's too fragile and at times she can tell Clay feels the same way.  Determined to prove herself and pay for her past "sins," she befriends Lizzie where the two learn from each other.

This was a good read.  I was mildly disappointed with the end where too much time had passed with events that I felt warranted explanation.  The acceptance by the grandmother of Lizzie and Clay could have used some depth and I just didn't understand Vivian's short explanation of what had happened to her.  Ideally, I believe it could have been another book, but overall this was an entertaining read.  Good Book!

Lovelier than Daylight (The Saddler's Legacy #3) - Rosslyn Elliott

I bought this one quite some time ago and have just given up hope of reading these in order.  Back in May, I was able to read Fairer than Morning, the first book and was happy with it.

Susanna is the niece of Will and Ann, whose story we heard back in the first book.  She is on her way to Westerville to attend college at Otterbein.  On her way there, she stops to check on her sister and family only to find the house deserted.  Her worry turns to despair when she learns that her sister is missing and the children have been sent to the orphanage.

Johann works for his father brewing beer.  While his passion lies in writing for the newspaper, he feels a dedication to his father.  He meets Susanna, but they are instantly at odds when she discovers his profession.  Having seen the effects of strong drink first hand, she tries to hold her feelings at bay even while she tries to find a way of freeing the children and finding her sister.  A saloon in Westerville brings an opportunity for both sides to show what they're made of.

I'm not sure why, but I wasn't as pleased as I normally would be to see the characters of the previous book old and not as spry as they were the first time I read about them.  I also found out more than I wanted to about Ben, the subject of book 2.

Overall, this book didn't appeal to me as much as the first one.  I took the second book off my watch list and finished this one feeling indifferent.  I missed the saddle-making, there was very little of it in there.  Susanna was one of those characters that was self-righteous and irritated me with the way she treated Johann.  The man treated her with patience and grace, only making me dislike Susanna more.  While I wanted to like the book, I grew up in Columbus, I found it lacking.  In the end, I just can't recommend it.

Skip Rock Shallows - Jan Watson

The summary for this book interested me, so I picked it up.  As far as I can tell, this is my first read from this author.

Lilly has come to Skip Rock to take over position as the doctor for the mining town.  The men are wary of her at first, as with all books about early female doctors, and she has to earn the trust of the town.  It seems that once she finds her place, she isn't in a rush to leave.  Her fiance from Boston arrives to check on her, but she begins to question her love for him.

Tern is in Skip Rock undercover to check on conditions in the mine and make sure that the men are being treated fairly.  He recognizes Lilly from a circumstance in their past where their lives crossed in an unfortunate manner.  While Tern has loved Lilly all his life, he doesn't feel like she could ever forgive him or have any sort of feelings for him.

This book was an interesting read, but I'm not sure that it was as good as it could have been.  There were so few interactions between Tern and Lilly that I wondered how she so easily fell in love with him.  Perhaps it was implied in some of the memories they had from the past, but I don't think it was explained well enough to make the relationship make sense.  I also can appreciate the author's use of appropriate terminology for the time period, but most of the odd words weren't explained.  It seemed like the circumstance in the past that brought them together in the first place was more of an afterthought than it was a part of why they were drawn to each other.

This is part of a series, but it isn't labeled as such.  The next book in the series, Tattler's Branch, just came out at the end of August and is the continuation of Lilly's story.  I happened to notice that by accident.  Since it is a continuation of the story and I feel like I got the happy ending I needed in Skip Rock Shallows, I have made the decision to end my journey with Lilly and Tern here.  Decent Book - just not one of my favorites.