Hannah G

4.5 stars, rounded up.

This one definitely kept me flipping pages as Mariah, a peaceful homeschool mom, and her young son Jordan come across a gravely wounded man in the woods, just as a blizzard is moving in—a blizzard which knocks out all communications to the rural neighborhood for days! The man can't remember who he is, but there are very unsavory people looking for him, and they keep coming back.

Definitely a good read (and I probably should have gone to bed instead of finishing it!)

Hard one to score, so I'm going for the middle. I loved Georgie as a character and wanted to root for her and her son Sam as some mysterious threat closes in around them. The mystery is detailed and kept me guessing as to how it would turn out. I also appreciated that there's no x-rated cussing. However, I also had a lot of objections too.

18+ only

First off, it's from a supposedly Christian publisher, but it contains three sex scenes (one pretty explicit about them doing it in an alley against a wall...) Yes, we know married folks have sex but we absolutely don't need to be in the room with them when they do it, and we don't need to enter the shower with them either.

Second, there was zero faith. The son has some mention of bedtime prayers, but they don't go to church and there's no turning to God in any way for hope or wisdom during repeated serious life crises. But we know about a former neighbor's devout Tibetan Buddhist decor and we hear about the Iraqis being depended on for compass direction in their daily prayer life. Why is a woman in serious crisis NOT looking for some sort of faith connection? When literally everyone in her life has betrayed her in some form or fashion?

Last, the story is very dark in many ways. So little hope, so many murders, so much death and loss and betrayal. It even ends on Halloween with Dracula and Elvira costumes taking a hand in a crumbling bungalow scene in the very nail-biting ending showdown.

So—brilliant concept, fast-paced plot, and sympathetic lead; but so much missed opportunity for any sort of spiritual message, and a depressing air about the whole story.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required. This review is based on a final published copy.

3.5 stars, rounded up
Pleasant read with a dash of whimsy (pranks and aunts) and a heartfelt lesson about moving past prior rejections and learning not to feel less-than just because someone else doesn't like you. Solomon and Lydie are a delightful couple and caught my attention easily.

Really enjoyed this quick read about a mother and daughter who get found after having been in witness protection for years. Mason leaves undercover work in order to get them to safety, but with moles in every aspect of law enforcement, it's not that easy to do. Plenty of twists and turns and a delightful ending.

1899 Oklahoma

Absolute hot mess of a story. Love at first sight x2. She's engaged to someone else. He's a quarter Indian and military. They head off alone to get to a shooting exhibition with zero escort; they kiss the second day, are giving each other heart to heart confessions, calling each other first names, but if he says the word “feet” she puffs up in righteous indignation. Her family is society but somehow has little ready cash. Rounding up hardened outlaws is a cinch, super easy.
-How did her dad even meet this villain?
-Why did Clara vanish?
-nothing about God but instead the pistol seems to have magic powers
-when something that isn't hers is found in her luggage, she trots on with it instead of asking her travel companions if it's theirs...

Never mind that if she's actually society anything she wouldn't be giving shooting demos to anyone. Strange.

Definitely won't be trying this author again.

I bonded quickly with both Ben and Katie, but her idolatry of suffrage got on my nerves. Literal idolatry, using scripture to consider herself a missionary doing God's work by trying to agitate women into voting. Thankfully, in the end that is addressed and corrected but will it be too late; has she lost Ben forever?

A delightful little short story of a baby being born during a Nebraska blizzard right before Christmas. Miss Emma, the midwife and her stepmother, turns into a Scheherezade when Rosalind becomes discouraged from the lengthy labor.

Landing in the middle of a rating for this one. It has some really great strengths as far as the two lead characters go, and the love story and the picture of Bedouin culture is excellent, but the spiritual aspects are troublesome. I think it would make more sense to me if it had just been a case of “we got married because we are in love” because the motivation for an arranged marriage was just so weak, and it's clear they care very much for each other to begin with, having grown up as best friends. (Which—there was an oops in the math; if he was around 30 and she was just out of college, they wouldn't have been boy and girl together at all.) Also, there was no element of “saving her people” other than in her imagination because the people who threatened her parents weren't under the sheik anyway, and he meant them no harm.

Then there was the method of evangelism (friendship evangelism in a closed country) which in itself takes a tack that makes sense, but is ultimately deceptive. It shows the missionaries saying everyone is worshipping the same God and answering questions about the Bible from the Quran; a method that is logical but evades truth. The way it's portrayed in the story makes it sound like they accept Quran as containing truth although obscuring truth about Jesus and that they agree that the two religions worship the same God, simply because they worship one father God.

Finally, the ending is abrupt and we aren't told if Karim ever acts on the dream that comes to him. I really wanted to see him learn to follow God; but other than a couple moments of noticing the form of her prayers or hearing the witness of his friend, there's no payoff.

Really cute second-change romance by a new to me author. I took a chance on it for the fun yellow cover and truly enjoyed the read. Both lead characters, Sonny and Parker, are likeable and engaging; after being college sweethearts, they're now into their careers but they haven't been able to forget each other. I didn't like the number of body/potty jokes but other than that it was endearing, and a certain little goat called Sweetness was a fun side character. I loved the crazy family dynamics of the Luciano family and the clear theme of how Sonny and Parker had matured since their breakup and are now ready for forever.

A delightful short read that was simply cozy and satisfying. Bing and Ellery are a great match despite his rather growly personality at the beginning.

Lovely story and a clever twist on the Nutcracker story. This was kinda low on my to-read list because I'm trying really hard not to add new books to the tbr, but because of a little nudging from a friend (Lise, of course) I decided to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did. I truly enjoyed it and will be reading more of Lucy's stories.

Aw, the end of the series! I need Michael's story now, and would a related series with other townspeople be too much to ask? I don't want to say goodbye to this group of characters.

Doug is a widower and he doesn't feel closure for his wife's death because her killer is on the loose still. Tabitha is the killer's ex-girlfriend and ready to testify to his crimes, but of course the killer doesn't intend for her to live that long. When Doug's former Army friend, DEA agent Michael, vanishes, Doug steps in to help protect Tabitha.

Overall an very fun suspense and I loved the glimpses of other characters from the series through the story. :)

Delightful story!

I must admit, I put off reading this one for a very long time. I didn't want to be annoyed by historical oopses even though I know Melanie Dobson usually has great historical attention to detail. I had no reason to worry, though—the historical context is very well done.

What took the story to the next level for me was all the subtext detail. I hadn't really thought about how conductors would need to steer clear of outspoken abolitionists before, but it makes sense. Hence, while the good guys were secretly agreeing with Daniel's stand, they couldn't just come out and say it without risking notice that would endanger their stops and passengers. Thus, Daniel has a big hurdle to pass in order to get involved locally, because he's noisy and noticeable. Then there was the heart-tugging and sweet subplot with Joseph and Esther, which was so detailed in just a few words and scenes.

Anna made an excellent MC and I loved how understated the romance is. This book would be suitable for any age.

Well, this one was a really fun read and a good setting. I was interested to see how the crimes would sort themselves out and it was definitely keeping me guessing as to whether various things were linked to each other or not. I really liked Tess as a character, though I want to see more of her inner thoughts unfold; I know a lot about her actions and strategies now but I think I definitely need to keep reading the series to get the full picture of who she can be (I don't think Tess herself knows, at this point).

I really liked the details about how the police forces were run and the differences between going from the big city to a small one. There were actually a lot of details to this story, but they were deftly slid into the action without taking too much time. I've now got an impulse to read through her whole backlist to see if they're all this good!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

Solid mystery by a new to me author. The writing style reminded me a bit of Terri Blackstock, and I'll definitely be trying others of hers. This one kept my attention but the dramatic conversations between characters and the heavy use of italics for drama kept me from rating it more than “good.”

Absolutely delightful ending to the Packhorse Librarians duo. It's five years later and Bettina has been doing a lot of growing up, and now she's rooted in the community and at home in Nanny Fay's house. But war is stalking the nation and might change all her dreams. What are the right decisions for her? Lovely story.

I liked the characters, but there were some serious plot holes about how the perps accomplished things that required some serious suspension of belief, such as the number of notes and texts from them which were somehow completely untraceable.

Absolutely beautiful story of redemption and second chances, even for the “worst” among us. Memorable characters that I'd love to be friends with in real life...and a definite candidate for multiple rereads in the future!

Lovely dual-time story that kept me turning the pages since I started it last night. I liked Liam and Chelsea's contemporary timeline best, hands-down, which also made me a little sad I didn't have as much time to bond with Cora and Preston and get to know them as characters. But other than wishing for more space to flesh out the older timeline, I really enjoyed the story overall.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy; however, I delayed reading it too long, so the review is based off a final copy I bought.

This delightful vintage-style story really captured the essence of small-town life in early 1900s Iowa. Social spheres are much more casual than in swanky coastal towns and well-educated women might easily find themselves having to work in a local factory for a spell after a bad season of crops. Sadie is one of these, the eldest girl leaving home to work and keep up the mortgage payments in order for her family to not lose their farm after her father's tragic accident.

I loved the interesting characters (except for Alta!) and definitely wanted to see Sadie and Otis get a happy ending. It was a delight to watch him slowly let down his guard and learn to let others show love for him.

The style and setting reminded me of a good Bess Streeter Aldrich or Willa Cather prairie novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

Another dear little story, this one grasping the reality of the continued war and the heavy bombing of London. Bobby is in the story again and Christmas is coming up. Nora's having a hard time feeling the joy of the season as war surrounds her.

I can't wait to get my hands on the next of these stories! I hope they will be published soon.

Such a delightful book! This vintage-y Christmas novella is a reimagining of the original Nutcracker tale and it's simply brimming with old-fashioned 1902 Christmas charm. I instantly liked Mariah and her parents and I warmed up to Cyril pretty quickly. I really wasn't able to predict the storyline with the Danish suitor who's in England to select a bride to take home.

I absolutely loved the deep Christian message throughout the story and how the Lord impacts the lives of all the main characters. I wish this level of Christianity was a more common theme among Christian fiction books.

This is Roseanna at her best and I'm glad I took a chance reading this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.

A delightful short story that was even more fun this time through than in the early draft I read some of before. I loved Frank and Nora and found the historical details and notes very enjoyable too.

Lovely, old-fashioned story about a vibrant family of young children and how they fare when their parents have other obligations and must rely on two kind lady tutors for their learning. Will their previous upbringing stand the test?

I loved the classic style and the sweet view of vintage English family life.

Oh, wow, that was intense! This is a dark thriller about a strange small town that appears picture perfect until....it isn't. I did successfully spot the villain at about 30% in but he wasn't easy to prove anything against for awhile! Delightfully twisty and seriously dangerous for the characters.

Content: cult, forced drugging, kidnap and murder