Tide Will Tell (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans #2) - Lesley Ann McDaniel

After reading the first book in the series, The Unrelenting Tide, I went ahead and just kept going to read this, the second book in the series.  These books are by different authors. This is my first read by this author.

Kate is running from her past.  She comes to Shaw Island as the fiance of a billionaire and is suddenly the focus of everyone's attention.  Her fiance is considerably older than she is, but she's drawn to his promise of protection.  Once she gets to the island, she discovers there's a lot he hasn't told her.  Like the fact he has children practically her age or he's had two previous wives that died/disappear.

Josh is visiting as a friend of one of the fiance's children.  He's drawn to Kate and wonders why she's agreeing to this marriage when there are so many questions about her fiance and his past.  He wants to help her, but senses there's more to her story than she's willing to tell.  He wants to protect her, but will she let him in?

This book was a nice, easy read.  I did figure out who the villain was pretty easily.  Kate was a little confusing at times since she didn't want to trust Josh with her secrets, but told someone else with little forethought.  She also wasn't very bright at times with her cell phone.  I liked the first book a bit more.

As I mentioned before, this is the second book in the series.  Connecting it to the first book is a scene from the first book replayed in this one through Kate and Josh's eyes.  It would be okay to read these out of order or alone.  The third book, Deceptive Tide, is by Janalyn Voigt and comes out summer 2015.  I haven't read anything by that author either, so I'm not sure I'll keep an eye out for it.  Good Book!

The Unrelenting Tide (Islands of Intrigue: San Juans #1) - Lynnette Bonner

I'll be the first to admit that I'm pretty picky when it comes to contemporary books.  I'm drawn to historical fiction and enjoyed this author's series called The Shepherd's Heart. That series consisted of Rocky Mountain Oasis, High Desert Haven, Fair Valley Refuge, and Spring Meadow Sanctuary.  I picked up this book on the advice of Lesley Ann McDaniel, the author of the second book in this series.  I was in the mood for a good mystery, and I've been to the San Juan Islands, so I went ahead and picked this one up.

Devynne has been hiding for years now, but her past is coming back to hunt her.  Losing her sister and her husband, she feels a massive amount of guilt.  Her late husband's brother, Carcen, is doing a great job helping take care of her daughter, but he's also finding a way into her heart.

Carcen wants to help Devynne with her problems, but she pushes him away.  He's a sheriff and she doesn't want to risk her heart again.  But when her stalker comes back into her life, she needs his help to protect both herself and her daughter.  Allowing herself to love him will put him in the crosshairs.

This was a nice, easy read.  I like how the author applied enough shady moments to make more than one suspect a possibility.  I wasn't 100% sure who it was until the end.  That's something I appreciate when reading a mystery.  The second book in the series, Tide Will Tell, is by Lesley Ann McDaniel and just came out.  I picked it up and look forward to reading it.  The characters make very minor appearances in this book, making me believe this will be a series that's okay to read out of order.  Good Book!

Update on Tosca Lee ebook - Demon and Havah

When I posted my review for Iscariot yesterday, I mentioned that I was confused by the fact that some of the author's other books - Demon and Havah - weren't available in digital form.  I went ahead and sent an email to the author and she was kind enough to respond.

At present, Tosca Lee is in the middle of changing publishers for those titles and they are currently unavailable during the transition.  It appears they'll be available again in a few months.  I'll definitely be on the lookout!

If you're interested in Demon, I have written a review of it HERE.

Iscariot - Tosca Lee

Are you ready to sympathize with Judas?  Are you prepared to read the story of Judas where he isn't evil incarnate?  Most of the time, we think of Judas only as the betrayer of Jesus.  But what if there was more to the story?

That's what you're getting into when you read Iscariot.  Beginning at the start of Judas' life, I read about his parentage, what kinds of things people suffered at the hands of the Romans and the lengths others would go to for the sake of the law.

I already knew how the story would end.  I've heard it for my entire life.  But I had never considered that Judas may have been acting out of love.  That his vision for Jesus pushed him to make decisions that eventually led him to the largest regret of his life.

Tosca Lee is a great author.  It's evident that she does her research just by reading her books.  When I read her books, I am blown away by the creativity and talent she writes with. Dealing with this subject took a lot of guts and I appreciate her efforts.  While it's a work of fiction, Iscariot is believable as a possibility of what might have happened.  You can read about her research and thoughts at the end of the book.

I won't say that I enjoyed this book.  It had so much death and fear in it, that enjoy isn't the right word to use.  The book made me think about what I have read about for many years in a whole new light.  It's hard to think it's possible Judas was a person to be pitied rather than hated, but in the end, it's not for us to judge.  I recommend this book.

Tosca Lee has written The Book of Mortals series with Ted Dekker.  She's also written several books on her own including Demon and Havah (the story of Eve).  She's also got a book coming out in September about Sheba.  For some reason, I can't find Demon or Havah in Kindle version right now, but I know it was in the past, because I own the Demon ebook.  Great Book!

Undetected - Dee Henderson

I really enjoy Dee Henderson's writing style.  I've read most of her books.  Lately, I had the chance to read Unspoken.  While it wasn't really up my alley, I wasn't giving up on Henderson.  I was thankful to have the opportunity to read this one.

Gina is super smart.  She's used those smarts to make her brother's life aboard a sub safer.  She also seems to have issues in relationships.  With this latest break-up, she heads to Bangor to visit with her brother and work on some top secret ideas for the Navy. While she's there, she ends up with two men liking her.  She's stuck in the middle and has to figure out what God has planned for her.

Mark is older Gina and passes on the chance to date her.  He's been married before and thinks it's time to find a new wife.  As he spends more time with Gina on her projects, he is intrigued by the layers she has and he becomes interested.  The problem for him is that he approved the man she's currently seeing.  He's getting ready to go out on patrol for 90 days, so what does he do about Gina?

I did enjoy this book, but I admit that I didn't really like Mark for part of the book.  He passed on the chance to date Gina, but then he makes his feelings clear to her while she's dating a man named Daniel.  The men have an agreement to just go with it and see who she picks, which I thought was a bit weird.  I was a fan of Daniel at that point, since he had the prior claim and was the bigger man in my eyes.  Then, towards the end, Mark was pretty pushy.

Other than those issues, I really did like the book.  The characters were well-developed and the descriptions of what was going on vivid. One word of warning: if you have absolutely no interest in the workings of a sub or how their protocol works, you might be overwhelmed with all the descriptions.  There's a lot in there.

This book is tied to Unspoken slightly.  Mark is the brother of the hero in that first book.  I can't find a place where it has a series name or anything, but I wouldn't be shocked to see another one come out about Mark and Bryce's brother, Jim.  The interactions involving Bryce are not enough that you'd have to read them in order.  Good Book!

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

Flora's Wish (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker #1) - Kathleen Y'Barbo

After reading Miss Merriweather's Marriage, a prequel to this series, I went ahead and put the rest of the series on my watch list.  I was able to pick up this first book a few months back.  Unfortunately, it got lost in the mess that's my Kindle and I finally got around to reading it.

Flora is stuck in a bad situation.  With the fate of her family home resting on her shoulders, she's now willing to marry a virtual stranger to save it.  With a nickname like Fatal Flora, she has a lot to overcome until she meets the charming Will Tucker.  He's willing to agree to any of her demands and she's so desperate that she is blinded to the absurdity of the situation.

Lucas has been on the trail of Will Tucker for a while and feels like he's close to seeing justice done.  When he spots Flora with an item he knows has been stolen, he uses that information to force her into helping him.  Flora only agrees to help him because she's certain once they catch up with the elusive Mr. Tucker, Lucas will see that he's innocent.

These two get under each other's skin from the very beginning.  It's nice the way they admit to their feelings while they learn more about each other.  I liked both characters a great deal.  The only issue I had was with Flora's unconditional defense of a man she barely knew.  For a long time, it seemed that she was simply unwilling to put her trust in Lucas, but later on I came to realize they were more the result of the desperation of her situation and denial of her feelings for Lucas.

I was glad to learn that the next book in the series involves Kyle Russell, the best friend of Lucas.  We meet him in this book, but since there isn't any information on his background, it's okay to read these out of order.  The second book is called Millie's Treasure and the third is Sadie's Secret.  They're both on my watch list and I hope they drop in price soon! If you're interested in this book at all and haven't read this author before, I suggest you pick up the short story Miss Merriweather's Marriage.  At the time of this review, it was still up for free.  You've got nothing to lose!  Good Book!

Hearts Awakening (Hearts Along the River #1) - Delia Parr

This is my first read by this author.  I saw this book up for free and decided to give it a shot.

Ellie is a spinster.  Her cousin doesn't really want her and no one else seems to either. She's plain, poor and doesn't have much hope of a content life.  When she gets a proposal of marriage, it is with the understanding that there will be no love.  She's basically a housekeeper and nursemaid.  Ellie agrees.

Jackson hasn't been very smart in terms of love.  The only woman he's ever loved left him, so he married a woman he didn't love.  When she died, she brought scandal to his door. He asks Ellie to be his wife and her plain face insures that he won't have to deal with the same type of scandal.

Misunderstandings happen all the time as these two try to learn how to communicate and be honest with each other.  Jackson's anger threatens to ruin any hope they have of a life together.  Ellie has the patience of a saint, especially when dealing with Jackson. While Jackson isn't very likable at the beginning, by the end of the book, I thought he was much better.

I enjoyed this book.  There are two more in this series, Love's First Bloom and Hidden Affections.  After looking at the descriptions, the character names aren't familiar, so it's okay to read these by themselves.

This author also has another series, the Candlewood Trilogy.  It appears to be more of a straight historical novel, so I don't plan on reading it soon.  This book was enjoyable and I'll be on the lookout for the other two in the series.  Good Book!