A Place in His Heart (Southold Chronicles #1) - Rebecca DeMarino

This is the first book in the series.  The other two are To Capture Her Heart and To Follow Her Heart.

Mary's getting pressure to agree to a marriage with someone she's known since childhood.  She resists and sees a way out when she becomes reacquainted with the baker, Barnabas.  He's lost his wife and has two small children to raise.  He needs a mother for them but feels like he'll never stop loving his dead wife.  Mary knows this but agrees to the marriage anyway.  She's fallen in love and hopes he'll love her eventually.

Barnabas plans to take his family to the colonies, a detail he fails to mention to his soon-to-be wife.  He is also critical of the way she does things and harasses her about getting pregnant.  He wants to start a legacy in the colonies, complete with an ornate headstone that he plans to ship over from England.

The book is full of descriptions about early life in the colonies.  At times, these can get long, but if you're interested in that subject, you'll probably enjoy it.  For me, it became a bit tedious.

"Poor Mary."  That was my thought while reading this.  She spends the entire book trying to please Barnabas while he spends the entire book taking her for granted, comparing her to his dead wife and asking her if she's pregnant.  Sure, he takes care of her basic needs, but it's clear that Mary longs for his love.  Even though she knew what she was getting into, it was still heartbreaking to see what she had to put up with just to get what she wanted at the very end.  I disliked 'Barney' a LOT, so the end wasn't satisfying for me.

From the descriptions, I didn't recognize any of the characters from the second book, but the third one has Patience Terry and Barney's brother, Jeremy.  While Jeremy was hands-down my favorite character, I'm not enthusiastic about continuing the series.

Mind Over Magic (Psych #2)- William Rabkin

It's been a while since I read the first book in this series, A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Read.  I enjoyed that one.  I felt it captured the characters and it was like "reading" an episode of Psych.  It's one of our favorite shows.

Shawn is sent to deliver a present at the Fortress of Magic.  Instead, he witnesses a murder during a controversial magician's act.  The man is supposed to disappear from a tank of water and reappear somewhere else.  Instead, the magician disappears, and a dead man appears in the tank.

Since they're dealing with magicians who don't like to give up their secrets, the case is harder than normal.  The government's even involved. 

I didn't really like this one, and I ended up slogging through it.  The characters didn't seem to be acting as they normally do, and the story didn't interest me.  It took me a long time to finish this one.

It wasn't just me - my daughter read this as well.  She loves Psych as much as I do, and she didn't like it either.  Something about the way the characters were portrayed seemed "off."  Some TV shows can pull off these novels, and Rabkin has showed that he can do it.  This time, it just didn't meet my expectations, and I ended up being disappointed.

A Daring Venture (Empire State #2) - Elizabeth Camden

This is the second book in the series.  The first one was called A Dangerous Legacy.

Rosalind had a rough past.  After dealing with her parents’ death from cholera, moving to Germany and then having to leave in disgrace, she wants nothing more than to conduct her research in peace.  She believes putting a small amount of chlorine in the city’s water supply could help prevent people from dying of waterborne diseases, but not everyone agrees.  A lawsuit puts her in a place where she has to choose between her life’s work and her newfound attraction for a witness on the other side: Nicholas Drake.

When Nick meets Rosalind, he wishes they were on the same side.  She’s pretty as a moonbeam, but he believes she wants to poison everyone with chlorine.  She offers him research to back up what she says, but he’s skeptical and just wants the court case over with so he can court her in earnest.  He’s also dealing with feelings of regret about a part of the family and wants to mend fences with someone who has hated him in the past.

I didn’t like the first book in this series, but Nick was my favorite character, so I was more than willing to read this one.  I ended up liking this one SO much better.  Both Nick and Rosalind were likable characters, and I could appreciate the struggles they faced.  I also liked the little historical note at the end.  Those always seem to appeal to me.

I’m wondering if the next book will be about Eloise, Nick and Lucy’s cousin, but I’ll have to wait and see.  As is it, I enjoyed this book and devoured it in just a few days.  Good Book!

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

More Than Meets the Eye (Patchwork Family #1) - Karen Witemeyer

I grew up in the 80s, so this title makes the Transformers cartoon theme to get stuck in my head, but don’t worry, there’s no transforming robots in this book.  It’s the start of a new series by Karen Witemeyer!  She’s one of my favorite authors, so I was excited to read this book.

It starts out pretty sad, so have a hanky ready.  Four children on an orphan train.  One rebel, a sickly boy and two siblings.  Evangeline has two different color eyes, and that makes everyone reject her.  Her brother loves her, so he refuses to let them be split up.  A train crash is what separates the siblings, but the rebel and the other boy become her new family.

Years later, Evangeline feels like she can only be herself when she’s home.  People are still suspicious of her unusual eyes.  One day, she meets a man who sparks an attraction in her.  He’s something of a mystery, and she’s determined to find out more about him.

Logan has come for one purpose: to regain the land that was cheated from his father.  He initially uses Evangeline as a way to get information about her brother, the one who stole everything from him.  As time passes, he sees her as more than a mine of information.  He also finds out that her brother isn’t as fiendish as he’d imagined.  But he can’t turn back now, can he?

I liked this book a lot and read it in two days.  I love the way Witemeyer writes her characters.  I think my favorite was Evangeline with her quirky attitude and soft heart.  After that, it has to be her brother, Zach.  He’s her opposite with a gruff manner and the walls around his heart.  I look forward to hearing more about this family.  Good Book!

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

Hidden Currents (Lantern Beach #1) - Christy Barritt

This is the first book I've read by this author.  I was looking for a new author and saw that I could borrow this from Amazon for free.  This series is four books at the time I'm writing this review, but the book summary says it's going to be six total.  So far there's Hidden Currents, Flood Watch, Storm Surge, and Dangerous Waters.

Cassidy's cover has been blown.  She's taken out the head of a gang in Seattle, but now she's in hiding on the other side of the country.  With a bounty of a million dollars on her head, she has to stay out of the spotlight.

Easier said than done.  She's supposed to be selling ice cream to the tourists (since none of the local will buy from her), but she soon gets bored.  A murdered man on the beach has her detective instincts tingling, and no matter how many times she tells herself to keep her nose out of things, she finds herself involved.

There's also some romantic tension going on between Cassidy and her neighbor, Ty.  They definitely get off on the wrong foot, but the more they learn about each other, the more they want to know.  But Cassidy's got a man waiting for her when she comes out of hiding, and she tells herself she can't be interested.

We read from both Ty and Cassidy's point of view, and I liked that.   I was also able to connect with both characters, especially Cassidy.  My only gripe was the two chapters that took the story out of the present and put it into the past.  These two chapters could've easily been incorporated into the flow of the story as a memory or flashback.  I'm not a fan of skipping around time-wise in novels, but it was only twice, so I'll give that a pass.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more.  This one ended a bit abruptly, and potential readers be warned that Cassidy is still in hiding at the end of the book.  You're going to want to keep going, and I have the feeling you may want to read these in order.  I can't wait to read about the continuing relationship between Ty and Cassidy.  Good Book!

The Weaver's Daughter - Sarah E. Ladd

Kate is torn between two worlds.  Her brother works at a mill while her father is a weaver.  Loyalty is important to her father, and she doesn’t dare upset him.  He won’t allow Kate to have much say in the business, even though she feels like it will be hers one day.

Henry has come back from the war, and his homecoming isn’t quite what he was hoping for.  Arguments with his grandfather and an intriguing woman he can never have bring him down.  When tragedy strikes, the gap between them grows.  And it continues to grow as things in town get worse.

This is very North and South (Richard Armitage and Daniela Denby-ashe) meets Romeo and Juliet.  The warring families, the mill owners under attack – it all felt familiar to me.  Fortunately, it doesn’t end as tragically as Romeo and Juliet.

At the time of this review, I didn’t see this book linked to a series, but I hope to see more from this world.  I’d like to find out what happens to Charles or Mollie.  Even Frederica.  All in all, a good book that I enjoyed.  Now I’m off to watch North and South – it’s one of my favorites!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Gathering Shadows (Finding Sanctuary #1) - Nancy Mehl

This is the first book in a three-book series.  The other books are called Deadly Echoes and Rising Darkness.  This is the first book I have read by this author.

Wynter is using her job at the news station to investigate a lead in her brother's disappearance.  He's been gone for years, and her parents have accepted that he's dead.  Wynter refuses to believe it.  She sees him in her dreams, and he's calling for her to find him.

She ends up in the quiet town of Sanctuary, a place where people are suspicious of her and will do anything to keep their secrets safe.  Her photographer, Zac, suspects there's more to their visit to the town and ends up wanting to help her

The mayor, Reuben, makes her feel welcome.  Someone wants her to leave, and mysterious things keep happening.  She's hoping to find out if the young man from the picture is her brother, but she's not going to be able to figure it out on her own. 

I really enjoyed the relationship between Zac and Wynter, almost more than I did the romantic relationship that was supposed to be blooming between Wynter and Reuben.  Once they get past their initial dislike of each other, Zac isn't afraid to confront Wynter with the realities she needs to hear at times. I just liked the comfortable relationship they ended up having.

My eyes won't thank me tonight, but I read this in one day.  It was a great read and well worth it.  I'll definitely be on the lookout for the other two books in the series.  The main characters in the next book are introduced in this book, but in such a way that I believe these will be okay to read alone or out of order.  Even though I was disappointed not to see Zac as a main character in the other books, I'll hold out hope that he still shows up.  Fingers crossed!  Good Book!