Hannah G

Peter could stay with his eastern-Europe country that's being smashed to pieces by the Bolsheviks, or he could cut his losses and build a new life from scratch. He escapes to America to do just that, and uses what valuables he can grab to finance his trip. He begins work on a large American estate as a regular laborer, a forester and groundskeeper. But when strange mishaps begin to take place at the estate, is someone after the owner or has Peter's past come calling?

I'll definitely be reading more of Gibbs's work.

4.5 stars
Yet another book I've neglected to review here for much too long. I was in the middle of moving when I read it and it wasn't easy to get to writing the review up, but this story was able to hold my attention and stick in my memory despite chaos and way too much going on. Elite Guardians has been a favorite series and I wasn't happy to see it end, especially since each book seemed to be better than the one before it.

Haley was a great character and I'd been looking forward to her book since the beginning. I loved the touch of Ireland in the story as they race to keep her safe from the threat that killed her parents when she was a kid.

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

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!)

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.

The story itself and the characters are both five stars. It lost a star for repeated shabby editing issues, such as run-on sentences and comma splices.

I absolutely loved the characters and the very strong Christian message. Kate was such a multi-facted woman and Dave such a strong man. He'd been one of my favorite characters in “Danger in the Shadows”, and it was great to get his story. I look forward to reading more of the family's stories.

5 stars!
18+ for heavy human trafficking content

This was a fabulous end to a great series, and this book is definitely on the reread-soon list. This is mostly about Morgan and some about Gio; but as she detoxes from the blur of the past decade, she realizes there are a lot of questions about things that happened to her in the meantime. And one of her past lovers isn't giving up so easily, now that she's supposedly out free; he still thinks he owns her.

I really loved the epilogue too, and seeing all the characters again in the future. Beautiful way to tie up the series!

4.5 stars.
I've been wanting to read this book for awhile and was thrilled when my library bought the ebook at my request. Lyndie and Jake are a perfect couple–she's patient and loving; he's damaged and having a hard time with survivor's guilt from his time in the Marines. I loved the details about horse training and racing, since I've always loved horses and wish I could spend time around some. And it was great to have appearances from Bo, Meg, Ty, Celia, and even Amber from the first book.
Content: a few kisses, drinking, and betting on horse races.

Excellent! This is a wonderfully told story, enjoyable partly because it is so delightfully unpredictable. It's not every day that you find a contemporary that has you flipping pages like a suspense novel! Johnnie Alexander is an excellent author and played my emotions like crazy in this book.

From the start, I was hooked...when widowed Shelby goes to her grandparents' old homestead, which she has just bought back from the man who took it from her grandfather, she is greeted by a man who she finds charming and polite—until he introduces himself, and she realizes that he isn't her restoration contractor—he's the selling owner, the grandson of the man who cheated her grandfather out of his property. Except AJ is determined to be nothing like his grandfather; he'd like to be more like his beloved grandmother.

The story isn't just about belonging or even about who you are, though those themes are strong; it's also about consequences (setting up nicely for book two) and legacy and family and neighbors. The house, Misty Willow, is almost a character of its own, with the rich history of the Lassiter family.

I loved Shelby's two young daughters and AJ's dog Lila especially. All three added so much to the story, as well as some great comic relief. And the secondary characters, good and bad, added lots of depth to the story and even to the definition of who the main characters are. It's layered and multifaceted and delightfully unexpected. Don't miss this one.

Note: Adding a sixth star for some really great Cary Grant trivia/quotes!!

Uh...well, I REALLY wasn't expecting to have two books in a row that had guillotines as part of the suspense, but at least this one didn't have the caves and orangutan that I just had in [b:The Hairy Arm 22404160 The Hairy Arm Edgar Wallace https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1420145785l/22404160.SX50.jpg 839773]! This was a delightful book to pick as my first read of the new year and I thoroughly enjoyed the read. It was fun seeing how many elements there were from the original fairy tale, and I really wasn't expecting some of the twists.One note, that this books has a higher “spice” level than any of her others that I've read, and I hurried through a couple spots where the guy had his shirt off. I'd say 16+ on the age range as it does have desire/temptation as a repeat theme.I wish I didn't have to wait over a year for the next new book of hers!

4.75 stars.
This was a great introduction to Eason's writing, with an action-packed mystery that has, quite literally, a whole bunch of people that the heroine can't trust. Can she and her husband survive? Will their relationship be forever shattered by his hidden past, and is going with him going to keep her alive or put her in more danger?

The only things that bugged me was that David Hackett quite suddenly became Hatchett in the last chapter. It's a huge pet peeve when characters change names.

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

3.5 stars
Angel is an excellent shooter and tracker and lands a job on a ranch by pretending to be a man. But the continual denial of who she is wears thin, and though she fears for her life she answers an ad to go to Wyoming for a new job where she can finally be herself again.

Well, pretty soon it's clear that the outlaws haven't given up on finding and killing her, and they aren't choosy about who else they hurt to draw her out. How many mishaps must happen at the ranch before they get to her?

The tension keeps ramping up while they try to keep Angel safe and of course a certain ranch owner finds her safety of more and more concern to him...

I read this a number of years ago, before I discovered Project Gutenburg. Yes, it's edited, and I hate editing, but Phillips does a good job. If you don't want the dialect, this is a great book to read. The unedited version is now on my to-read list, since I finally found a reprinted hardback copy of the original version. After I read the edited copies, I have gone back through each of his books slowly, and very few of Phillips's editings took out enough to make the story unrecognizable, as some editors I could name do. I would definitely recommend this.

I read the Project Gutenburg edition. This has to be one of the most unusual books I've ever read! There are several smaller stories told within the scope of the main story, and one of those was so sweet that I have already reread it. It wasn't enough for me to consider him a new favorite author, but I will definitely consider reading more of his works. Don't let the title fool you, though; it's not a ghost story, but the name of a place.

Cute story...but we booksellers make a joke or two about how creepy the elf is, because we get overdose of it! I wouldn't be likely to have it to my child read it...no lessons learned...but the kids at the storytime really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed reading this! It is quite an unusual story, part adventure, mystery, and romance. Young Ste. Marie has always led a pampered life and enjoyed the regard of all who know him. He senses that there might be something better than idleness and hopes to find someone or something to spur him into adventure. When his friend Hartley introduces him to Miss Bonham, he is immediately smitten. He asks a chance to earn her love, and she allows him to embark on a quest to find her missing brother. Can he succeed?

This was on the romantic side for me, but still fun. By that I mean that most of the plot centers around people falling in love in one way or another. I liked it, but try not to read too much of such things...it makes me lonely!
However, it was a really interesting story; my interest never once wandered, and I read it all in one day! I must admit, though, that if I'd had the hard copy I would not have been able to resist the urge to peek ahead.
I read the ebook edition from Project Gutenburg. This one in particular was rather badly edited, and at the end the most frequent problem was the substitution of “p” for “f” when the capital letter was used...rather odd to have people meeting at “Pour in the afternoon”.

This was an unusual book all around; nothing happens quite as you think it will. It follows the life of Fay Clayton, a child who knows nothing of her past family, and her attempts to make a way for herself in life. She decides to become an actress, sure she will be a success. But there is so much to contend with–low pay, no good friends, men ready to help at the highest of costs. When the one friend she had counted on fails her, she is thrown into despair and actual want. Will she just become another piece of used flotsam in the stream of life?
The ending took me by a definite surprise. But when I stopped to think about it, what better way than for her to be taken care of forever by a good person who never failed her, and who was there in her worst hour?

An enjoyable tale from the French. The blurb is misleading; it is more a romance in the classic sense than any fantasy. It's pure fiction. The story itself is quite interesting, and I enjoyed following the hero as he tries his best to live up to his good name despite his hardships.

Compared to the usual Augusta Evans books, this is a mere short story. There is not time for the detail she usually spent on her writing, and yet the story is still excellent, and short and sweet little love story, with a few characteristic political points thrown in for good measure (after all, it wouldn't be Augusta Evans if she didn't make a political point and refer to Hebrew or some other ancient language for some reason!). I enjoyed the quick read–and the pictures were gorgeous!

I would not have been allowed to read this when younger because of the fairies...although later in the book, the parson says that fairies are not real, it does not change that Sally relies on the advice of an “inner fairy” in her search to become a proper young lady.
Other than the fairy stuff, though, which did not need to be so overdone, it's a sweet story for young people, covering the years of Sally's life between 11 and 16. I would recommend that it be read by older people, though, for it's not entirely healthy for impressionable children to consider that good things come from hearing inner voices.

This was such a sweet book! It is the story of a youngish woman and her experiences with her sisters-in-law and their children. She helps out with the nieces and nephews, giving them presents, helping with their parties, coming when they are ill, and doing everything that her sisters-in-law consider that aunts should do, hence the “professional” title. She has a very forgiving attitude and a great sense of humor. There are numbers of quiet happenings along the way. Since there is no real plot, just a series of events, I would term this more of a gentle book than an exciting one–just the sort to curl up with in a rocking chair on a cold winter day, with a large cup of hot tea. It is fairly short and the ending is fabulous.
I definitely recommend this. It's written in an unusual style, and there are a few places where the author jumps too quickly from scene to scene, but it leaves me with enough of a warm fuzzy feeling that I quite forgive her. If you read the Gutenburg edition, there are a number of typos, but I was able to figure them out. I will be looking for a hard copy of this!
~Hannah

Eek! Call me a dunce for not having heard about this, but I expected from the cover on Project Gutenburg that this was a seafaring-type story...and once I started I couldn't stop. It's probably going to be awhile before I risk this author again. The writing is definitely gripping, but I don't like tragedy or horror, so I didn't like this. The second star is only for the excellence of the author's prose, not for the story!

Not being a sci-fi reader, I wasn't really sure what to expect, but I really did enjoy it and am so glad I got the chance to read this. It was quite interesting and the plot was unpredictable, something I like. Great job, Katie!

I began reading this with very mixed feelings. I had not read any of Bertha Clay's (Charlotte Braeme) books before, and the first three chapters were very interesting, yet foreshadowed too much and had almost the air of being part of a cheap novel. However, once I was past the first five chapters, I couldn't put it down. The foreshadowing, after all, is just for the first part of the book, and gives no great hint for the ending.
The heroine must decide to do right and does it well, though she suffers for the decision. For those who have a hard time with the beginning, just skim until you get to the good part! It is a romance, so I would probably not read a lot of her books in a row, but I didn't even care. The heroine is easy to care for and the short chapters make it easy to day, “just three more pages...“
Project Gutenburg released this book about a week ago, and I'm so glad they did! It is well edited and formatted.