Lisa Henson

I've always enjoyed Jill Eileen Smith's books, and The Prince and the Prodigal does not disappoint. If you're familiar with the story of Joseph in Genesis, you likely already know the outline – Joseph, the favored son, is sold to a caravan of traders by his older brothers, ends up as a slave in Egypt, and after many years, finds himself second only to Pharaoh, well placed to help his family survive a devastating famine. But you may not know much about Judah other than his name and the fact that he was one of Joseph's brothers.

Here, Smith fleshes out the scriptural account of Joseph, and she also provides an engrossing account of the life of Judah, his older brother. When you read the words on the page of your Bible, you get the gist of the story. Smith brings those words to life in vivid detail.

It had never occurred to me that perhaps Joseph didn't enjoy being the favored son. Here, he's portrayed as a young man who wants to learn from his father and grandfather and share the faith that is so important to them, but who's deeply troubled at the rift his father's affection for him causes between him and his brothers. Smith's writing made him a much more sympathetic character for me. He was more than just the snot-nosed favorite who seemed to lord it over his siblings by telling him about his dreams and how they'd bow to him someday.

And never once had it crossed my mind how Judah might have felt after he and his brothers made the call, first, to toss Joseph into a pit and leave him for dead, and then to pull him out of the pit and sell him to slavers. And then to go home and lie to their father about what happened after that? The guilt must have been crushing. It's no wonder he ran off and lived in Canaan for a good long while. He fled from facing his father, and ran from his father's God, too.

Smith draws a wonderful portrait of both Joseph and Judah doing their best to seek (or in Judah's case, find) God in the midst of their struggles. Joseph believes in God, but often can't fathom why God has put him in a foreign land, in a prison, in a situation where he isn't free to leave and go home. Judah has resisted the God of his father, yet God still finds him, even far from home, and restores the things that have been broken. The picture for both of them is of a loving God leading them through difficulty if they will just trust and follow and keep doing the next right thing. The story closes on a beautiful note of redemption and restoration, and I'll tell ya, I needed a tissue or two.

If you enjoy a good work of historical fiction with a clear emphasis on faith in and reliance on God, with well-written characters and a world described so well you feel like you could step right into the pages, you'll love The Prince and the Prodigal. Five stars from me.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from the publisher, Revell. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

This is the second in Dea Poirier's Detective Harlow Durant series. I haven't read the first, but didn't have any trouble reading this one as a stand-alone. Enough back story was filled in that I could make sense of it.

Here, she and her partner Lucas are called to Saranac Lake to investigate a grisly murder. A young woman's body has been found, burned almost beyond all recognition. Then a second. Then a third. Another detective, Chad, is already in the tourist town investigating a serial killer. Is this a second serial killer in the same area? Harlow and Lucas have got to figure out what's going on.

There were a number of unlikable people in this book, starting with the main character. Harlow Durant is a detective, a loner with a troubled past. She's constantly on the move, trying to stay ahead of her parents and anyone else who might unravel her history. There are very few people she trusts enough to let them know her story. Her partner Lucas is one person that she lets in. He knows the details of her dark past, and trusts and likes her regardless.

Harlow's parents are both detestable characters – her father is a serial killer (yes, you read that right), her mother is just abusive and horrible. Chad, a fellow detective, is a jerk. He's constantly needling Harlow, giving her grief about anything he can, and she returns the favor. The pawn shop owner from whom they're trying to get video evidence is just low-level sleaze. The common thread among the victims, a well-to-do gentleman, is hitting on Harlow every chance he gets. It's a grimy undercurrent to an interesting story.

That being said, even with all the characters you'll love to hate, it was still a very compelling read. It took me a couple of chapters to get into it, but once I did, I was hooked. The victims, though it was revealed that they had their own issues, were characters you cared about. They deserved justice, and I was cheering for Harlow as she worked to provide that for them.

And if you don't like cliffhangers, boy, you will not like the end of this book. My eyes nearly popped out of my head when I read that last page. I didn't see it coming, and I've got to read the next book now!

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from Netgalley and Bookouture. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Kelly Irvin has a real winner in Trust Me. I will say up front that it is Christian fiction, and her characters talk about and struggle with their faith openly. It's an integral part of the story. If that isn't your jam, then this may not be the right read for you (good romantic thriller though it is!).

Now, if you enjoy a story that includes faith and the ups and downs of living it out, read on! It's set in San Antonio, and while I'm a Louisiana girl, I lived in Texas for a bunch of years. It will always have a piece of my heart, and I love stories that are set there.

Delaney Broward lived through the trauma of discovering her brother Corey dead in his art studio ten years ago. Her boyfriend, Hunter Nash, went to prison for the crime. So imagine her shock when she not only finds her best friend, Ellie Hill, brutally slain (and gets herself attacked in the process), but learns that Hunter has been released from prison that same day. Hunter is quickly bumped up to the top of the suspect list for Ellie's murder, and Delaney doesn't know what to think.

Delaney lost her faith in God when Corey was killed and Hunter was convicted of the murder. Hunter found his faith in God within the prison walls, and through the assistance of the prison chaplain, he's found himself a job now that he's out. He's trying to convince Delaney that he's innocent of Corey's murder, both to clear himself and to restore her faith. She reluctantly agrees to work with him, and they go poking under some serious rocks and digging in some dark corners to uncover the truth, putting themselves in danger in the process.

Irvin writes believable characters. Hunter is intent on clearing himself, as you would expect an innocent man to be. Delaney is hesitant to open herself up to hurt, to letting the man she loved and lost back into her heart. Hunter's mother is an absolute jewel and responds to him the way I'd hope I would if it were one of my boys in a similar situation. His siblings are realistic, some good, some annoying as all get out. You can tell a lot of thought went into each character's personality and characteristics to make sure they fit their role in the story.

It's a well-paced story, too. The suspense builds and moves along at a good pace, without any bits that drag. It kept me guessing, too. I'd think I'd figured out the killer, and then something would happen that I didn't see coming, and I was back to square one. Then the big reveal had my jaw on the floor. It was stunning to me, and I love stories that can surprise me at the end!

The only thing that rubbed me wrong just a bit was the fact that Delaney let Hunter stay anywhere near her when he showed up unexpectedly at her house. I'm reasonably confident that, in that situation, I would have been all, oh, HAIL, no, and I am on the phone to 911 just as fast as I can be. Or maybe not. I've never been in that situation, after all, still attracted to the man convicted of killing my brother, and said man is swearing he didn't. I worked my way past it and enjoyed the book all the same!

This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and the title is apt. The story focuses heavily on trust lost, and the process of rebuilding that trust. There's tension, and action, and danger, and romance, and humor, all of which combine to make this a five-star read for me.

This is Irvin's first Christian thriller, and I hope she writes more in this genre. I am here to read all of them! Scroll down and enter the giveaway, and you can WIN an autographed paperback copy!

Surprise! I'm starting in the middle of a series again! That being said, I simply adore Lady Eleanor Swift.

Lady Swift finds herself pressed into service by Sir Percival, head of the royal police, to investigate the suspicious death of Lord Xander Taylor-Howard, a minor royal (eighteenth in line to the throne). Lord Taylor-Howard dropped dead in front of a crowd at the royal regatta, poisoned by the champagne he drank as he prepared to hand out awards to the winners. Turns out His Lordship was hiding a number of secrets, but which of them led to his untimely death? And who hated him enough to want him dead? His sister? An angry husband of one of the many ladies His Lordship dallied with? A Russian spy to whom he was providing information on the royal family?

Verity Bright crafts a delightful tale here. Eleanor – Ellie – is the type of lady I suspect I'd be – one not overly concerned with Keeping Up Appearances and Doing the Done Thing. Her so-called friend Tipsy has her work cut out for her, but she's determined to convince Ellie to forget about her fondness for Detective Inspector Hugh Seldon and “bag” some wealthy, titled man. Ellie is interested in none of it, and I applaud her for it! Tipsy was so over the top, she almost seemed a caricature, but I'm sure there were women like that, for whom snagging the “right” gentleman was all that mattered.

Clifford, Ellie's butler, would like to see her come more into her role as lady of the manor, and he encourages her to go along with some of Tipsy's “suggestions” (Tipsy is very pushy). But ultimately, he knows Ellie isn't ever going to fit entirely into the “proper lady” mold, and he assists in her investigation, often playing a pivotal role either in moving things forward or in keeping Ellie safe when she's poking into corners someone doesn't want poked in. I really like Clifford.

As with Tipsy, I find the Bright Young Things a bit shallow and kind of annoying. But they were a part of the time period, and they fit the setting of the story. Had Ellie taken up with any of that set, it would have been terribly disappointing!

The story has intrigue and action, tension and romance. I found myself wondering if Ellie would make it through this one unscathed! I'm anxious to read future entries in the series to see how the romance between Hugh and Ellie develops. It seems that they've made some progress on that front here, and I want to know how it turns out!

And oh, there is humor. The female servants at Henley Hall, the ancestral manor, make no secret that they all find Hugh dashing and handsome. The shenanigans they go through to lay eyes on him are quite entertaining. Gladstone, the family dog, is also a scene stealer. I want to give him skritches and pats and feed him treats, because he is a Very Good Boy! He also has a tendency to find the muddiest muck at the most inopportune of times, and it's hilarious.

Is this profound literature? No. But it is a light, witty, clever mystery that lets me escape into another time and place for a while. And can't we all do with more of those right now? It gets five stars from me.

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy from Netgalley and Bookouture. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

I enjoy a good M.C. Beaton book, so when I had the chance to read A Death at Silversmith Bay, I jumped on it. This is my first book in the series. I wasn't unduly hampered by not having read books 1 and 2, although I suspect the backstory would be helpful. So, don't do like me – start at the beginning.

Jemima Jago, or Jem, is coming home to Penzance after having spent some time in the Scilly Isles. Imagine her surprise to find her flat occupied by a cat she doesn't recall owning, and her bathtub full of bags of smelly, messy garbage. Turns out her sister Tori is the one responsible, both for the cat and the garbage. When Jem sees what appears to be a bloody mallet in the trash bags, she has to figure out what happened.

When she and her friend Micki find Micki's sister-in-law with her head bashed in in her used bookstore, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the bloody mallet in Jem's flat could well be what did Gina in. Jem earned a reputation as an amateur sleuth in Scilly, and the “Scilly Sleuth,” as she was dubbed now has to work out what happened, and whether her sister had anything to do with it.

A Death at Silversmith Bay is a light, enjoyable read. I liked the setting, as Cornwall is a place I've never been but would love to visit. The characters were entertaining and believable, even when they did some pretty stupid things. Wyatt the Walrus was a particularly humorous touch (although I'm sure the people in his path probably didn't find him amusing in the least!). The mystery kept me guessing, and when I'd think perhaps I had it figured out, bam, another suspect got knocked off the list.

And I want Jem's job! I'd love to be a librarian where I can take lashings of time off to go pursue interests outside of work. Are there any other bosses like hers in the world, and if there are, are they hiring?

If you're looking for an engaging, cleverly written mystery that will let you escape to Cornwall for a while, take a trip to Silversmith Bay. Five stars from me!

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy of this book from Bookouture and NetGalley. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Yes, I've read my Coffeehouse Mysteries out of order. But now I have finally put the last piece into place with Brewed Awakening. This is my just turned the last page, totally off the cuff review.

What a read!!! When I started, and Clare had lost her memory, I was aghast. (Okay, I've read Honey Roasted - I had an idea things wouldn't stay pear-shaped. But still. She couldn't remember Quinn?!) But I pressed on.

This book, y'all. I don't even have words for how much I enjoyed it. I think I devoured it in about three hours. I wanted to smack Matt for thinking this might be his second chance with Clare, and I was delighted to see that Clare was still herself and wasn't going to fall for his smooth talking. And even when she couldn't remember all that had happened in the past fifteen or so years, Clare retained her investigative sensibilities. She was determined to figure out what had happened.

I'll have more thoughts later. I just had to come write this now to tell y'all that if you haven't gotten to Brewed Awakening in the series, keep reading! And if you haven't read the series, what are you waiting for?! I think I liked this book even better than Honey Roasted, and I liked that one. I hope there's more of the series yet to come. It's one of my favorites!

Mars Adrift is the conclusion to McFall and Hays' Halo Trilogy. I haven't yet had the pleasure of reading books one and two, but that didn't interfere with my enjoyment of book three.

This is some pretty hardcore sci-fi meets a good detective story. It's a dual timeline story, told from the point of view of Lauren Valentine, chancellor of Stardust University and history professor, in 2238, and from the point of view of Crucial Larsen, fifty years earlier on Mars. Crucial's parts of the story unfold in response to discussions Valentine has with her students, and this storytelling method really worked well for me.

Crucial is something of a curmudgeon, largely interested in what's best for Crucial, but he's still a surprisingly likable character. And he's not quite as self-interested as he used to be. Sure, he's still working toward his own agenda, but he'll do his best to save those who matter to him – and the world – in the process. He's not always happy about his newly discovered compassionate tendencies, though. As they search for Mel, his former lover and the only person who might be able to really make a difference following the attack, Crucial glares at his sister Essential and thinks, “If the nanites have somehow infected me with empathy, I will never forgive her.”

I think Sanders was my very favorite character, though. He's a cybanism – a cybernetic humanoid. As you might expect, there are some pretty entertaining misunderstandings when he takes something Crucial says literally that shouldn't have been taken literally or has no frame of reference for how humans think. And just as the Resistance sought to introduce an empathy hack into the overlord AI Halo, Sanders himself seems to be developing emotions. Coincidence?

The writing style is sharp and smart, and moves the story along quickly. Mars Adrift touches on serious issues, such as global wealth, climate change, politics, and the grasping greed that is part of human nature. However, it does so with fascinating turns of phrase and unexpected elements that make the story fun to read as well as thought-provoking. I mean, “an interstellar invader in squiggly paramecium ships crapping out clouds of what are most likely weapons”? Come on, if that doesn't make you want to read this book, you are dead inside. And I think “Oh, for the love of binomial aggravation” may be my new favorite expletive phrase.

If you're a sci-fan, or just a fan of a well-told, well-written, wildly entertaining story, get the Halo Trilogy. McFall and Hays have gotten bumped up to the top of my “I'll read anything they write” list.

I give it five dome-smashing meteors. Top notch.

When I think of a beach wedding, a decades-old mystery, a crooked DA, and scandalous secrets of moneyed society aren't what come to mind. But that, and more, is what we get in Michael Ledwidge's Beach Wedding.

I know it's not summer yet, but this would be an excellent summer read. Engaging, a quick read once you get past the first little bit, and characters you'll either love or love to hate. I give it four solid stars.

Full review at https://theplainspokenpen.com/blog-tour-and-book-review-beach-wedding-by-michael-ledwidge/

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy from NetGalley and Hanover Square Press. All opinions are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Emory Martinez and her minutes-older twin, Carrie Berger, have taken a catering gig for a holiday party. Things start out tense with the mystery client's staff, and the tension ramps up with they learn that the mystery client is their old high school nemesis, Blair. Blair was especially awful to Carrie, and her personality hasn't improved. She's mean to everybody. So when Emory and Carrie return the next morning to cater breakfast as part of their job, and find Blair has ceased to be, there's no shortage of suspects - including the sisters themselves.

This was a delightful cozy mystery! The characters, the twists and turns, the recipes at the end, all of it. As an adoptee who's recently found the paternal side of her family, I could really appreciate the storyline that had Emory and Carrie meeting their newly found sister, Vannie. It made me happy to see that circumstance portrayed so positively, and I can't wait to see more of all three sisters in future books in the series.

I didn't realize this was fourth in the series when I started reading. It read fine without me having read the other three, but I liked it so much, now I've got to go back and read them all!

I received an advance reader copy of the book through BookSirens. I am leaving this review voluntarily, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

In a nutshell, beautiful writing, beautiful lake setting that makes me want to visit Michigan, characters who are flawed and realistic – all positives. I was hoping for more clear references to
God and Christian faith and how the characters struggled and grew, though. I don't regret reading the book, it just isn't one I'm jumping up and down about.

See my full review at https://theplainspokenpen.com/book-review-the-girl-who-could-breathe-under-water-by-erin-bartels/

I LOVED THIS BOOK!!! (And there's romance. Oh, hey, I'm a romance reader now. For reals.) For starters, the setting is just wonderful. My husband has told me about how much he enjoyed his time spent in Juneau, Alaska. He was up there for several weeks one summer doing an internship for his master's in museum studies. So Alaska has been on my bucket list of places for a while. And I am not a cold weather girl, but Warren's descriptions of the beauty of the Alaskan landscape almost make me willing to go there when it's cold.

The characters were likable (or not – looking at you, Idaho) and relatable. Life has left both Dodge and Echo struggling with issues of trust and the need to extend forgiveness. When their relationship imploded ten years ago, both were deeply hurt. Neither is sure they want to open up to the possibility of further pain, even though they clearly still have strong feelings for each other. I wanted so much to see them succeed, to work past their issues, with each other and with other people in their lives. I wanted to shake them when they were being stupid and stubborn. I wanted to give them hugs when they needed them.

There's plenty of tension in the story to keep it moving briskly. We see that tension between Dodge and his father right off the bat. The details of their conflict aren't shared right away, but Dodge's reluctance to face his father is clear. Echo has issues from her mother leaving the family when Echo was young. There's strife between Charlie, Echo's father, and one of the guides in town. There are rescue missions, potential wildlife poachers, man against nature scenarios, all stirring the pot in their own way. This is not a story that will lull you to sleep. In fact, I stayed up past my bedtime reading because I just couldn't tear myself away!

This story bills itself as Christian fiction, and it delivers. It makes me sad when books are categorized as Christian fiction and then have very little of faith in the story. Warren makes faith an integral part of her characters' lives. Not only are they struggling with trust and forgiveness and healing of broken relationships (romantic and family both) on their own terms. They also wrestle with seeking God, with coming back to God when they thought He had walked away from them. And at the heart of all of it is love.

“This was love. Love showed up. Love stayed. Love sacrificed.”

Not gonna lie, there were times I was wiping away the tears while I was reading. And I'm not a crier.

For those of you who hate cliffhangers, there is a BIG FAT ONE at the end of this book. All it did, though, was make me want to read the second book as quickly as possible!

Five stars for well-written action, a gorgeous setting that makes you want to go see it for yourself, characters I loved, and just the right touch of romance. If you like a book that's heavy on the action and adventure, that includes clean romance and Christian values and beliefs, Sunrise may be the start of your next favorite series. Go pick it up and give it a read.

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Revell. All opinions here are my own, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

Once you start reading The Overnight Guest, you better cancel all your plans. You will not be able to put this book down. I read it in less than 24 hours. It's a creepy, edge-of-your-seat read with characters that drew me into their stories.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for an advance copy.

Take a look at my full review at https://theplainspokenpen.com/blog-tour-and-book-review-the-overnight-guest-by-heather-gudenkauf/

Happy book birthday plus a day to Ellery Adams! Y'all may remember, this book made my Can't-Wait Wednesday list (more about that on my blog, https://www.theplainspokenpen.com) a couple of months back. And now it's here! It's here! And it is GLORIOUS.

Nora and Sheldon are busy planning their Blind Date Book Bash when Deputy Jasper Andrews asks Nora to help him create a special moment for him to propose to his beloved Hester. Nora comes up with a great idea – Jasper can pop the question at a special movie screening of Little Women, Hester's favorite. But when Nora finds that the name “Hester” has been obliterated from all of Miracle Books' copies of The Scarlet Letter, she's concerned that Hester may be in danger. That concern only grows when she learns that the dead man found outside of town has a connection with Hester.

Y'all, this book Has. It. All. We've got romance with Jasper and Hester, and we also see Nora and the ever delightful Sheriff Grant McCabe growing closer. Jasper and Hester are sweet and all, but I just adore the interactions between Nora and Grant. Please, please, please let there be a wedding for them at some point in the series!

We've got tension. Is Hester in danger? From whom? We've got mystery. Who is the dead man? Why was there a rare vintage book in his coat pocket, and why do other books in that same rare series keep turning up around Miracle Springs?

And most of all, we've got the love of books and story and the wonderful friendships among Nora, Hester, June, and Estella. These ladies are each other's cheering section and biggest support, and they aren't afraid to have the hard conversations if it's called for. Those are the kinds of friendships we could all do with more of. It would be a delight to get to join them for book club!

There are other little treats woven throughout the story. I appreciate how Nora works with Sheldon to keep him working even when his health issues are giving him trouble. When he needs time to rest and recover, she gives it to him, no fuss, no muss. When he's feeling well and strong, there's work for him at Miracle Books. All workplaces should be as understanding with physical or mental ailments. The vintage book angle was also fascinating, and I liked that it allowed us to see more of Nora's dear friend Roberta. She's an occasional character, but a fun one!

I loved this book, just as I have all the others in the series. We got a fair bit of backstory on Hester and why she's been estranged from her family, and I enjoyed that. I like getting to know the main characters better as the series goes along. I also didn't see the big reveal on any of the threads of the mystery coming right away. I had inklings, but I didn't figure it all out before the end. It tickles me when a mystery can keep me at least a little bit in the dark!

This should surprise exactly no one who's read along with me on my blog or read my reviews here, but I give The Vanishing Type five ginormous book-lovin' stars. I will gladly be a part of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society for as long as Ellery Adams keeps the series alive. If you're a lover of mystery and story and wonderful characters, run get yourself this book. Don't wait. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley and Kensington Books. All opinions here are my own, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.

You would think that, after nineteen books, a series might start to lag a little. Not so with Cleo Coyle's Coffeehouse Mysteries! If you'll pardon the coffee-related pun, they're good to the last drop...er, page.

The mystery here isn't a murder, but a near-murder. A swarm of bees has shown up on the Village Blend's chimney, and Clare thinks they may belong to Madame's old friend, Bea. When she arrives at Bea's apartment, she finds that Bea fell from her rooftop greenhouse. Police on the scene thought it was a suicide attempt, and now Bea lies in ICU in a coma. Clare and Madame both know Bea wasn't the type to kill herself, so they get to digging.

There's action, and suspense, and romance, and recipes. What's not to like?

Check out my full review at https://theplainspokenpen.com/book-review-honey-roasted-coffeehouse-mystery-19-by-cleo-coyle/.

It was Annie's father's last wish that she discover her heritage, and a small scrap of paper directs her to go to Galatea, so she sets out to the Italian island. Does she speak Italian? Not really. Does she have any idea what to expect? Not really. But she knows she may find out more there about her grandmother Mira, who disappeared after World War II.

Annie wears a bracelet that belonged to Mira. Not only is it a physical object connected to Annie's grandmother, but it also causes Annie to have visions. Mira's story is told through Annie's visions, and as Annie learns more about her grandmother, she also learns some unexpected things about herself.

The imagery in the book is wonderful! I can envision the island and its beauty, the creepy hillside cave that Annie and Salvo explore, the fishermen and the water and the cliffs. The writing is lyrical and easy to read, and since the book isn't terribly long, it just flew by as I was reading. And the sea reads almost as a living being, vital to the events of both past and present.

The story has a little something for everyone. There is suspense and tension as we see Mira's brother Gabriel bringing nothing good to the island, and as we wait to see if Annie will have the strength to break from her mother's suffocating negativity. There's romance – Mira and Lupo in the past, Annie and Salvo in the present. Annie and Salvo are just adorable. Annie's connection to Mira through the bracelet brings a touch of the paranormal and mystical to the story, as does the special bond shared by the Ayala women (is Annie one of those women? Read and find out).

And it's a dual timeline story! Y'all know I love those, and this one is nicely done. My only disappointment was that Mira's story seemed to take up so much of Annie's timeline. It felt like there was more to Annie than what we saw in between her visions of the past. But still, it was quite a good read, and the beauty of the words made up for me wishing I could have known more about Annie herself.

This is a solid four-star read, and it was nice to have a World War II historical fiction that didn't focus almost exclusively on the war and the events thereof. That was an unexpected and refreshing twist!

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy of the book from NetGalley and Bookouture. All opinions are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't actually like.

This Might Hurt opens on a shocking, perhaps even horrifying note with what appears to be an extreme piece of performance art. It was pretty cringe-inducing for me, and I'd say skip it if you're squeamish, but it does serve a purpose to the story.

From there, we follow two sisters, Natalie and Kit, dealing very differently with the death of their mother. Decisive, strong Natalie throws herself into her work. Mild, discontented Kit has taken off for a six-month self-improvement stay at Wisewood, forgoing contact with the outside world so she can try to figure out if there's more to life. Natalie receives a mysterious email from within Wisewood implying that a long-held secret will be revealed to Kit if Natalie doesn't tell her first. Will she sort things out with her sister? What is the secret she's hiding? Can she persuade Kit to leave the clinging embrace of Wisewood? Grab the book and see for yourself.

When I read the blurb, I wanted to read this book. I am a sucker for a good suspense novel, and this one sounded like it fit the bill. It didn't quite live up to my hopes for it, though.

The story unfolds from three different viewpoints: Natalie's, an unknown woman's, and Kit's (which felt like it took a long time to surface in the book). I first took the unknown woman to be either Natalie or Kit, but then there were references to her sister Jack. That made the unknown woman's narratives fairly confusing to me, as I couldn't figure out who she was for a good chunk of the book.

Some of the topics covered in the book, centering around the unknown woman, make for hard reading. Her father is horribly abusive and controlling, making her earn points to pretty much do anything – I mean, she has to earn points to sleep. It is her father's abuse that pushes her to pursue a life of learning to face and conquer her fears, and to pursue a career in magic, and later mentalism, against his express wishes. The sections describing her interactions with Sir, as she calls her father, are deeply disturbing to read, and the descriptions of the extent to which she takes her performances are also sometimes difficult.

And when we got to the big reveal of the secret, it was a little bit of a letdown. I mean, Natalie says about the secret, “I have no idea what Kit will do when she finds out,” so the reader is expecting something earth-shattering, devastating, shocking. Given the circumstances in which the secret took place, it wasn't that big of a shock to me. I wasn't gobsmacked. It seemed like a pretty shallow root to bring forth Natalie's huge fear of Kit finding out.

Wrobel's writing style is easy to read, and she does a good job of drawing out compassion for our characters, even though none of them are terribly likeable. The book was good, it just wasn't what I'd hoped. If you like a story that examines how far people will go to master their fears, that gives off a creepy vibe that has you resisting the urge to look over your shoulder, This Might Hurt may be perfect for you.

Thanks to Berkley and NetGalley for an advance review copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't really like.

The Barabbas Legacy is the final entry in M. D. House's trilogy about what happened to Barabbas after The Day - the day where Jesus took the punishment that should have awaited Barabbas and died in his place, and left Barabbas wondering why. It is a fitting ending to what has been a marvelous story.



The Bible tells us very little of Barabbas, other than that, when given the choice between freeing him or freeing Jesus, the Jews chose him. House has taken us on a journey of what Barabbas' life looked like afterward.



In the previous books in the trilogy, we've seen Barabbas struggle with why Jesus would choose to die in his place. We've seen his past as a Jewish rebel try to catch up with him, seen him marry well (somewhat to his surprise and disbelief). We've seen him and Chanah, his wife, grow in their faith and in their love for each other. We've seen how they've worked with the other apostles and believers to share the Gospel.

Now we see the seeds that have been planted start to bear fruit. The Barabbas Legacy is less the story about what Barabbas is doing, but about the legacy he will leave behind. He and some of the older Christian leaders, such as Cornelius and Paul, are still doing Kingdom work, but we see their children start to flourish as they head out on their own.

Marian is probably my favorite of Barabbas and Chanah's children. I loved seeing how her relationship with a Roman soldier she met on her way to Britannia not only grow romantically, but also point the soldier toward the saving love of Christ.

It was also a delight to me to see Paul reunited with his wife and grown children. Do we know for sure that that happened? No. It isn't mentioned in Scripture. But I love the imagining that it could have happened. To me, that speaks to the fact that God is most interested in our eternal state, but He also wants to see good things for us in the here and now.

The epilogue focusing on Barabbas and Chanah's daughter Sophia makes me hope that, even if this trilogy is at an end, we might see more historical fiction from House that continues to follow Barabbas' children wherever the Spirit leads them.

The premise of this book was intriguing. A society where everyone is mentally paired up with another person at birth, so that no one ever feels like they don't have a voice. In Joy's case, had she not been paired with Felix, the heir to the throne, she probably wouldn't have had much of a voice at all. Poor and Black, she and her mother have to work hard to get by.

Joy and Felix have feelings beyond just Kindred-ship for each other, even though Joy has been given shots once a year for years that gave her the ability to block out her connection to Felix. Joy has resigned herself to fulfilling her obligation to her people, to getting married ( even though it's going to be to someone she isn't terribly fond of) and having children. Felix is throwing himself into music, distracting himself with the social scene to try to keep his mind off what he's been raised to believe he can't have with Joy. They haven't even been allowed to meet, much less potentially fall in love like some Kindred pairs do.

Then the royal family is assassinated. Felix finds himself next in line for the throne, but he and Joy are also suspected of being the assassins. They have no choice but to flee, hoping to go to a system that's friendly, or that at least won't sound the alarm when they land. But things go awry, and they end up on Earth. In Florida. With a damaged ship. They've got to figure out how to blend in, fix the ship, and get back home.

I LOVE Joy. She is a delightful character, the embodiment of her name. She almost always can find the positive in a situation, and even on an alien planet, she finds it pretty easy to connect with people. I also love that she's fat. While there are characters who would shame her for her size, she finds her worth and value without having to conform to someone else's norm of beauty. It also helps that Felix adores her just the way she is, and it's nice to see a romantic relationship where the characters aren't portrayed as physically perfect.

Parts of the story really had me working to suspend my disbelief. Like the fact that Joy and Felix land on Earth and just happen to encounter, not only a student about their age whose surviving parent goes off and leaves him alone for days at a time, but also a community where there are already aliens there who can help them escape their pursuers. Really? Of all the places on this big planet, they land where there are already aliens. I know, I know, it's science FICTION. I like the rest of the story well enough to not get hung up too much on this.

The civilization in which Felix and Joy live, and the other alien civilizations we see described, are well constructed. The villain of the story was pretty obvious early on, but another person who might have seemed to be a villain was a bit of a surprise. The teenage characters are written, and read like, teenagers. Overall, this was an enjoyable, clean story in a universe I want to read more about.

Thanks to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for an advance reader copy. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books I don't like.

I had never heard of the historical Diamond Bessie. I had to go look her up!

This fictionalized account of her life is fascinating. Annie Moore finds herself in the family way after a young man sweet-talks her into going further than was proper for an unwed girl. The young man wants nothing to do with her once he learns she's pregnant, and, betrayed, she is packed off to a convent. There she is to redeem her soul by God's grace and harsh treatment at the hands of the nuns. When the nuns take her baby, Annie determines that she won't stay there. She flees the convent, and ends up taking employment as a demi-mondaine – a prostitute to a generally higher class of clientele.

When Annie – or Bessie, as she is now known – meets Abe Rothschild, spendthrift heir to the Rothschild diamond fortune, she falls hard for him. He apparently falls hard for her, too, but harder for her jewels, the diamonds with which she is identified. Their relationship is up and down, but when he finally proposes to her, Bessie hopes she can leave her working life behind her. But Abe, still more interested in her assets than Bessie herself, leaves her dead in Jefferson, Texas, far from home.

My heart just broke for Annie/Bessie. She made the best of the bad hand she was dealt in just about the only way a “loose woman” could in her era. What she'd given away for love, she now sold for profit. She knew what waited when she lost her youth and beauty, and it was nothing good. She hoped that her marriage to Abe would be her salvation, but it was the end of her instead.

And Bessie's viewpoint after her earthly life ends is almost the more intriguing part of the book. From a Christian perspective, I don't believe spirits linger here, seeking to finalize unfinished business. But what a thought, that she wanted revenge badly enough not to “go to the light.”

Jefferson, Texas still remembers Bessie to this day. After reading this book and learning of her, I might feel the need to pay a visit to her final resting place the next time I'm in the Lone Star State.

I didn't grow up in Texas, but I learned a little about the Alamo when I was young. The basic things that everyone learns – “Remember the Alamo!”, the deaths of notables such as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and the fact that the Texans lost. I never really gave much thought to the actual historical setting or the events leading up to that battle, though. In her engrossing and clearly well-researched book, Before the Alamo, Florence Byham Weinberg paints a vivid picture of the people who populated Mexican Texas.
Emilia is the focal point of the story. She is born in 1814, in the municipality of Béxar, the result of a short-lived love affair between her mother and a man of Spanish descent. She and her mother work for the father who refuses to acknowledge Emilia, and they are considered lower class. But Emilia learns to read and write, and works her way up to a position of some importance as a clerk for the city council. The story unfolds, following Emilia up to the Battle of the Alamo and its aftermath.

I don't speak a lot of Spanish, and I appreciated how Weinberg used Spanish terms throughout the book, but also used the English equivalent nearby. This made me feel immersed in the story and the culture without having to stop and check Google Translate for every unfamiliar term.

Weinberg also pulled no punches on how some Anglos treated the Tejanos when they came into Texas. While there were some who were honorable and treated the Tejanos with dignity (as exemplified by the character of Charles McCray, a doctor who befriended Emilia when she was working to help others during a cholera outbreak), there were some who were rude and downright ugly. Weinberg didn't try to pretty up those interactions to make the white folks all look better. In the modern era where racism is a topic that's front and center, it highlights that the arrival of the Anglo wasn't necessarily something welcomed by all Tejanos, and for good reason.

The story is compelling and the characters are well developed. It's got action, tension, romance, something for almost every reader. And this was another of my favorite kinds of books, the kind where the story is both enjoyable and educational. Before the Alamo has inspired me to learn more about Texas history, and I hope you'll take the opportunity to read it and learn something yourself. It gets five big stars from me.

Lisa Regan is a master of the tautly drawn crime thriller, and this, the thirteenth in the series, is no exception. This book grabbed me from the get-go and it was pedal to the metal all the way through. As long as Ms. Regan keeps writing, I will keep reading. Good stuff right here.

Thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for the review copy.

Full review on my blog: https://theplainspokenpen.com/blog-tour-the-drowning-girls-detective-josie-quinn-13-by-lisa-regan/

If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller, this isn't going to be your cup of tea. But if you want a story that builds and that reveals its secrets in time, with characters you may alternately want to hug and shake, The Women of Pearl Island may be for you. I can honestly say it is like no other book I've read this year, and it was a literary treat for me.

Stop by my blog for my full review: https://theplainspokenpen.com/book-review-the-women-of-pearl-island/

In Scattered Legacy, Marlene Bell takes us from the Manhattan art gallery world to the glitz and glamour of Italy. Alec plans to take Annalisse to see Bari, Italy, his mother's birthplace. It's supposed to be a relaxing vacation, a time of togetherness for them. But they don't figure on a murder implicating a former employee of the Zavos family business. Alec, Annalisse, and their friend and detective Bill Drake soon find themselves drawn into a tangle of mystery, murder, and Mafia.
The characters in this book are well-developed, the likable ones easy to like and the hateable ones easy to hate. Annalisse comes across as a bit diffident at times, especially when she starts to question where she really stands with Alec, but when the chips are down and it really counts, she stays cool, calm, and collected. Generosa, the art maven with a mysterious past. She loves her family, and she includes Annalisse in the circle of those she loves. She may not realize the danger that awaits when she gifts Annalisse with a medieval rosary. Alec, determined to clear his father's name and successfully sell the family business as well as unravel the former CFO's involvement in the ugly murder they've stumbled into.

Marlene Bell takes you on a transatlantic thrill ride with this one. I was drawn in from the beginning with the idea that Annalisse has suffered because of secrets kept from her. When it turned out that Generosa may have kept secrets of her own from everyone, even her family, I couldn't put the book down! There's a grisly death, white collar crime, a seemingly abandoned cat that may play an important role, chases and pursuits, and so much more. And let's not forget romance. Could you have a book set in Italy with no romance in it? Don't worry, though, the romance isn't front and center at the expense of the mystery.

Scattered Legacy is the third in a series, but I was able to pick up enough of the back story from this book to read it as a stand-alone. I'll go back and read the first two, though, because this one was mighty good! I recommend you do the same.

Five “ready to hop a plane and go to Italy” stars for Scattered Legacy. I hope there are more to come in the series!

The Big Empty is a story of a clash of cultures. The present that's rapidly becoming the past colliding with the seemingly incompatible future.

Life in the town of Conquistador is really all that Trace Malloy has ever known. He's a ranch manager and a cowboy, and with the exception of a short stint trying unsuccessfully to break away from his hometown, he's been in Conquistador all of his life. He realizes that ranching and the cowboy life are likely not viable options for the long term, and he wants to see his son Colt take advantage of other opportunities. Colt, unable to pursue his dream of flying in the Air Force due to the lingering damage from broken legs, stubbornly persists in saying he's going to follow in his father's footsteps right there in Conquistador.

But the future is on its way to Conquistador. AZTech, lured by the promise of tax breaks and accommodations, is building a computer chip manufacturing facility in the middle of the wide-open, dusty spaces. Blaine Witherspoon is heading up the project, seeing it as his ticket to bigger and better things in bigger and better places.

Past and present literally collide when Trace's pickup and Blaine's moving truck try to occupy the same piece of road at the same time. This doesn't bode well for their future interactions. Blaine sees Trace as a backwards yokel who needs to join the twenty-first century, and Trace sees Blaine as someone with no frame of reference for his new environment, someone who wants to come in and change things to suit the needs of his new facility without giving any thought to how those changes will impact the people in Conquistador, their livelihoods, their very ability to survive.

Blaine wants to get the factory up and running and meeting production goals on time and under budget. Trace wants to protect the town's scarce resources and see them managed so that the needs of both town and factory can be met. They both realize that something has to give, and they make grudging efforts to find some common ground. Some of those efforts are comical – Trace inviting Blaine, his high-maintenance wife who'd rather be anywhere but West Texas, and his emo son with a drug habit to a barbecue at the ranch, for instance. The Witherspoons thoughtfully bring their own food to accommodate their vegetarian eating habits, and the Conquistador folks are a bit befuddled as to why anyone would make a burger patty out of vegetables when there are perfectly good burgers made of beef to be had. Some of those efforts hurt – Blaine invites Trace to tour the chip factory, and it becomes a literal pain for Trace as he struggles to navigate the sterile, unfamiliar environment. But they're trying. Can they find enough common ground for the factory to succeed and bring prosperity to Conquistador?

Blaine and Trace are both well written characters. Blaine was at first a thoroughly unlikable character. He just came in wanting to do things how they were done back in California without thinking that hey, we aren't in California anymore, maybe we need to rethink this. As the story unfolded, though, I started to feel a little bit sorry for him. He didn't know what he was getting himself into, and he was so accustomed to doing things a certain way that it was difficult if not impossible for him to shift gears. His efforts to achieve a task that seemed to become more impossible each day were almost uncomfortable to watch. Trace was more likable, but I felt sorry for him, too. He struggled to maintain his way of life, and struggled to teach the newcomer how to adapt to West Texas. He ached for what he saw as his son throwing away a better future than what the cowboy life offered. He wrestled with guilt at not spending enough time with his mother, who was declining due to dementia. Both men have to find ways to adapt to new and different things.
I've never been to West Texas, but Steffy's writing lets me envision the never-ending expanse of flat, dusty land that has its own harsh beauty. The setting here is more than just the physical space that the characters occupy. It takes on a life of its own. The dust isn't mindful of how clean the chip factory needs to be; it just goes where it goes. When one of the new electrical lines run out to the factory collapses and sparks a wildfire, the fire threatens the town and the new facility alike. The immensity of the Big Empty is harsh to old-timer and newcomer alike, and environmentalism takes on a whole different meaning there.

This didn't read like a debut novel. It was well written and well worth the time I invested reading it. Five stars, and I hope to read more from Steffy in the future.

Heather Webber has done it again. If possible, I think The Lights of Sugarberry Cove is even better than Midnight at the Blackbird Cafe and South of the Buttonwood Tree.

The story is told alternately from Sadie's, and then Leala's, point of view. There are some unresolved emotions from the death of their father when they were young, on the part of both mother and daughters. Sadie is uncomfortable being back in a town where everyone sees her as some kind of miracle, her survival a wish granted by the lady of the lake. She's also got to figure out how she feels about Will, the young man she left behind when she unceremoniously bolted from town. Leala has everything she always thought she wanted, but she isn't happy, and she struggles to figure out why. And then there's the consternation when Sadie and Leala learn that the bed and breakfast is in desperate need of some remodeling, and their mother's finances don't seem to be in a condition to do that.

Her characters are all so wonderfully imagined, they seem like people you could just sit down and talk to. I think Uncle Camp was my favorite, and sometimes I wanted to just smack Connor because he seemed like such a jerk.

As with Webber's other books, this story is, at its heart, about family. Sadie, Leala, and Susannah all have flaws and quirks. The other characters are family, too – whether actually related or family tht they've chosen (or that has chosen them). Like all families, sometimes tensions and tempers flare. And as tends to happen, sometimes secrets are kept that should have been brought to light long ago. But sharing those secrets so often brings healing, and ultimately, joy and relationships restored.

Not gonna lie, the ending made me cry. Let me say it again: I will grab any of Heather Webber's books off the shelf without even seeing what they're about. She is one of my favorite authors. If you like your books full of Southern charm and Southern characters, with a touch of magic, she may become one of your favorite authors, too.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of this book from Netgalley and Forge Books. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books that I don't actually like.