Secrets (The Michelli Family Series #1) - Kristen Heitzmann

It has been quite a while since I have read one of this author's books.  Quite a few years ago, I read Freefall.  I remember that book was pretty long, but it wasn't too bad.  This one sounded interesting so I gave it a try.

Rese is good at hiding any and all emotions.  If she happens to show one, she berates herself and determines to try again.  She doesn't want help with anything and accepting it is really hard for her.  She is good with wood and is restoring an old house to make it into a bed and breakfast.

Lance is on a mission from his Nonna.  She has had a stroke and has given him a mission to find out something about the family.  I never really understood what he was trying to find out.  After traveling to Italy, he ends up at the house that Rese is restoring.  To his surprise, there is a position available at the old family home as a chef and maid.  He takes both positions and proceeds to try and snoop a little here and there.

I only made it to about 16% before I gave up. I don't doubt that the story was probably good, but there was so much description and mystery that I just didn't want to keep going.  It was definitely on its way to being a long book.  There was a lot of the "eluding to an inner struggle" with Rese, but there wasn't really any explanations as to why she was acting the way she was.  In the end (or beginning) there was just too much verbiage for me.

When Love is Enough (The Brotherhood Series #1) - Laura Landon

This book has been on my Kindle for quite a while.  Dusted it off and read it through.

Lydia and Gabe are perfect for each other.  He is on the verge of asking for her hand in marriage when her family gets blackmailed and Gabe has to let her go.  Claiming that he was only interested in her dowry, he breaks her heart and then heads off to war.  There he takes risky missions and doesn't care whether he lives or dies.  When he is critically wounded, Lydia's brother brings him back to the family home where Lydia still lives.

Her mourning time is almost up.  Her father promised her hand to a marquess and she will one day be a duchess.  Lydia can't forget Gabe and his coming back adds to her hurt.  She still loves him but she wants to make him pay for the pain that he has caused her.  Not knowing the full situation, she treats him as coldly as she can, trying to convince him and also herself that she no longer cares for him.

Gabe wishes that things could have been different.  He needs her to stay away from him or he loses control.  Unfortunately for that plan, Lydia's brother gets captured by the French and the only way to rescue him is to bring her along. 

The book has a smidgeon of language in it.  There were quite a few "bloody hells" in there.  There was also a little sex in there (and premarital at that).  I of course skimmed and blushed my way through it.  There were 2 scenes that I would consider sexual in there.  By the time that came into play, I was caught up in the story and needed to know what happened.  There were also a few misspelled words in there and a whole page seemed to be missing.

I did enjoy the story in this book.  I kept waiting for Lydia to learn the truth and for a way to develop for her and Gabe to be together.  Other than having to skim the sex parts, I was pleasantly surprised at the book.  I also have Broken Promises, which is also from this same series.  It is about Austin, Lydia's brother that was captured, and is the only other book in the series.  I will probably end up reading it and hope that I don't end up skimming too much.  Good Book!

The Healing Tree (The Healing Trilogy) - Amy De Trempe

This was a more recent freebie that came up and I decided it was time to give this new author (to me) a try.

Lilian is abused by her father.  Sometimes physical, most of his abuse is verbal and is terribly hurtful.  Her father has decided to marry her off to someone with particular attributes, someone who will give up his own family name and take his own.  He wants an heir since Lily has been such a disappointment to him.

Max is determined to stay away from Lilian just because he is at the top of the list.  Not knowing about the stipulation regarding his name, Max becomes intrigued and decides to solve the puzzle that is Lilian.  She is just as determined that she never marry and certainly never care for any man.  Unfortunately, Max loses his heart early on, and even though Lily loses hers as well, she has been beat down so often by her father that she believes that she could never make anyone, especially the man she loves.

I liked this book.  Max was patient and dealt with Lily in a gentle manner.  She is a nonbeliever and has issues believing in something that she cannot see.  Circumstances later on bring her to a crisis of faith.  The interactions between Max and Lily were really well thought out and her issues were sad.  Never fear though!  This one, as do all books that have my Good Book approval, has a happy ending.  It had me guessing about certain parts for quite a while.

As far as I could tell, this book came out in 2011, but I could not find a sequel.  Perhaps it hasn't come out yet, or I just didn't see it.  One is as likely as the other.  Regardless if the story ends here or not, I graciously give it my Good Book approval!

A Lasting Impression (A Belmont Mansion Novel #1) - Tamera Alexander

I've read most of this author's books and what I don't have, I'm watching.  I've finished her Fountain Creek Chronicles and have read book 1 of the Timber Ridge Reflections series.  I have also read and reviewed The Inheritance.  I have never been disappointed in reading one of her books, so this one was an easy sell for me, even though I paid a smidgeon over my $5.00 limit.

A Lasting Impression is set in Nashville not long after the Civil War.  There are elements of New Orleans and France in there.  The Belmont Mansion is a real place and the inspiration for the author's novel.

Claire hasn't really had it easy.  She forges paintings for her father against her will and better judgment.  She began forging the paintings to try and get medicine and medical care for her mother.  After she dies, Claire does it more for her father and his approval, which she never really gets.  After his sudden death, Claire is on the run from her past and has to try and find her own way in the world.  An unusual set of circumstances places her as personal liaison to Mrs. Acklen, a high society woman.

Sutton, or Willister, is Mrs. Acklen's personal attorney.  He is fighting the guilt of his father's death and his own dreams.  He is a good attorney but his real passion lies with horses.  He has a tentative understanding with a young lady which keeps him from really admitting his feelings for Claire.  Eventually Sutton and Claire come to care for one another, but there is still Claire's past to contend with.

As usual, I really did enjoy another of Tamera Alexander's books.  She has all the elements that make one of my favorite books: romance, suspense, faith.  For some odd reason, the print on this book was kind of small.  I tried to make it bigger, but then it would get really large and some of the words would be missing off the page.  I'm not quite sure what the issue was, but it hardly will prevent me from giving this one my Good Book review!  I can't wait for her next one (to come on sale!).

Jenna's Cowboy (The Callahans of Texas #1) - Sharon Gillenwater

This was a recent freebie that looked to be my kind of book.  Snatched it up and read through it like it was going to disappear tomorrow.  I'm not going to go into the details of the book too much, I think it would ruin the story.

Nate is a returning war hero.  Spending time in Iraq and Afghanistan, he is returning home after being awarded the Silver Star.  Unfortunately he is also suffering from a bad case of PTSD.  He comes across Jenna, who he has loved since his school.  She now has a small child, result of her failed marriage.  His feelings haven't changed and taking a job on her family's ranch throws them together a lot.  Jenna realizes that she cares deeply about Nate as well.

This isn't the usual romance that I read.  I found it intriguing that the author chose PTSD to be the mountain the couple has to overcome to be together.  I was pulled in by Nate's struggles and wanted the best for him (and yes I know he's a fictional character).  I think the best books are the ones that I read and actually care about what happens to the characters.  Not obsessively or anything.

I really enjoyed this book.  There are two more in this series, Emily's Chance & Megan's Hero.  These two are about Jenna's brothers.  At the moment the second one is under my $5 limit so I am considering buying it.  On the other hand, it's almost the end of the month and I'm hoping for a better result for the 100 discounted books at the beginning of the month.  I'm seriously considering Emily's Chance because Jenna's Cowboy gets my Good Book review!

Happily Ever After (Deep Haven Series #1) - Susan May Warren

This book was another one that needed dusting off.  As I sit here watching the snow fall, I wonder why it is that I get books on my Kindle and know that I want to read them but put it off for so long.  Oh well, since we're having this wonderful winter storm, I should have more reading time in the next few days.

Happily Ever After is the story of Mona and Joe.  Mona is trying to make her dreams come true.  She wants to turn a Victorian house into a bookstore/coffee shop/pottery store with the help of her friend, Liza.  Unfortunately she has bought a lemon and now needs some serious help to get the store ready in the next six weeks.

Here comes Joe.  Handyman extraordinaire, his "I can fix anything" attitude is just what Mona needs.  She's just not sure that it's what she wants.  Her ideal man is fictional and she is convinced that he doesn't exist in real life.  Joe, on the other hand, is a man that never stays anywhere very long and doesn't want to get attached.  Guess what?  He gets attached.

Someone doesn't want The Footstep of Heaven shop to open.  Various accidents around the place make Mona second guess her dream and her handyman.  Mona is also hiding a secret about her past that makes her feel that she doesn't deserve anything from God.  Joe as well has some major secrets he's hiding and the way he guards them puts a wedge between him and Mona.

This one had a few twists and unexpected turns.  I like being let in on a secret early on, that way I can anticipate when the other characters will actually find out.  Some of the secrets in this one really frustrated me because I had to wait for them.  Not a big deal.  I did enjoy this book.  There are more in the series: Tying the Knot, The Perfect Match, My Foolish Heart and The Shadow of Your Smile.  If they came up free, I would probably pick them up.  They won't be going on my watch list though.  Decent book!

Fire Dance - Delle Jacobs

I finished The Mudlark about a week ago and so I was looking forward to reading this one as well.  The first one was pretty clean.  This one was a bit different.

Melisande's cruel father has just died.  There are Normans at her doorstep and she willingly gives the land over to them by telling the knights to surrender without a fight.  She is fighting her own demons and has her own secrets, so she hides herself away from Alain, who is supposed to marry her to cement his claim to the area.

Melisande decides to pose as a servant, but Alain eventually figures that out.  She also has horrible nightmares where she ends up "walking" and then has no idea what has happened when she wakes up in the morning.  There's also the issue of the arsenic-lined cloak of doom.  That seemed too weird for me.  Apparently it is indestructible as well.

I really was planning on finishing this one.  I skimmed over the sex part and also the part where she wonders if something is wrong with him because he hasn't taken his husbandly duties to her knowledge.  In response, he has her grab his "stuff."  There seemed to also be a touch of rape in there.  Overall, there was just something about the book that bothered me.  It wasn't at all like The Mudlark and maybe my expectations prevented me from liking it more than I could have.  I gave up at 70%.  That's something for me because I normally would never get that far into a book and not at least finish it out of curiosity for the ending.  I'll probably skip this author in the future if I see more of her books up.