Book Review: A Family For Christmas

Christmas Reading

I know most readers frown upon Harlequin, but I really like these books as of late. I have many of them that I really need to get around to reading. I've enjoyed all that I've read so far. I find that I especially like the two that I've read that are set in the American West, mainly Texas. There's something about Texas that makes it a great setting for books, it's certainly a preferred setting for Christian authors.

A Family For Christmas begins when Eve Pickering travels by train to Tyler, Texas where she is to take up a position in a milliner's shop. During the train ride a young boy, whom Eve has befriended, is found to be a stowaway. When he is kicked off the train at a stop in Turnabout, Texas Eve doesn't have the heart to see the boy stranded alone in a strange town. She gives up her seat- and possibly her job offer at the milliner's shop- and gets off the train to watch over the young boy. A witness to her kindness, Chance Dawson, invites Eve and the boy to stay in his home until they find a new home for him. 

This book was cute, cozy, and homey. While it was wholesome, it was never preachy. I liked both the main characters, Eve and Chance, and I enjoyed reading about the town of Turnabout. I would now to like to read the previous two books in the series. As Harlequin is famous for doing, the author has taken a small town and made a series out of the lives of the people who reside there. What I love about this, is you don't typically need to read the books in order. Past characters may make appearances in new books, but their stories aren't important to the stories of the new books, at all. 

I enjoyed this light-hearted romance and I'm giving A Family For Christmas 4 out of 5 stars.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Ghost Town at Sundown (Magic Tree House #10)

This is the tenth installment in the Magic Tree House series. In this one, Jack and Annie find themselves sent back to the Wild Wild West trying to solve the next riddle in a ghost town... that may really be haunted! I really enjoyed this one! I'm a sucker for Westerns, so I really liked reading about Jack and Annie's adventures. For some reason, this one seemed a bit longer so Zachery did lose a bit of interest towards the end. 

I highly recommend this series to both young girl and boys. The first ten in the series were great and Zachery and I look forward to the next ten. I'm giving Ghost Town at Sundown 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: When The Heart Heals

When The Heart Heals is the second book in the Sisters at Heart series which is set in Noble Springs, Missouri. This installment follows Rosemary, who was a nurse during the Civil War. Rosemary is considered an outcast because of her duties during the war, but to support herself she decides to seek employment as a nurse in the office of the new doctor in town, Dr. Elijah Stewart. Dr. Stewart hires her and they inevitably fall in love. However, they do get off to a very rocky start. To add to the tension, Rosemary, who lives alone, has someone harassing her anonymously and occasionally trying to kill her beloved dog, Bodie. No fun at all!

I must admit that I had trouble getting into this book. At first, the writing just seemed very basic and superficial- a bit elementary. However, the story was actually interesting and plenty of things happen to move the story along nicely. As the book went on, the author seemed to get into her groove and the writing flowed better and didn't seem as forced. It did take me almost half the book to become somewhat emotionally invested in the characters, though. I can't really pinpoint why. Rosemary reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre, a character I love. Their personalities were similar. Independent, strong, determined, and neither would take crap from a man- even one they love. 

Image from the 2006 movie version of Jane Eyre.

I did end-up enjoying this book and I got involved with the mystery of who is harassing Rosemary. The author did a good job of keeping the reader guessing, however there really wasn't many clues to go by. I suspected everyone from the sheriff to her own sister-in-law! The lack of clues did help the reader feel Rosemary's frustration and fear at not knowing who was trying to scare her. The book almost felt part Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense novel. 

I also enjoyed the theme of forgiveness in this book. Throughout the book, Rosemary is reminded of Matthew 6:15, "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses". There's a lot of forgiving going on. Rosemary has many people to forgive including her parents, the sheriff, and her fiance. The minor characters in this book also have forgiving to do, including the preacher's wife who needs to forgive her son.

I am giving When The Heart Heals 3 out of 5 stars. It was an easy-read which included romance, drama, mystery, and history. Prior to reading this, I did not realize it was part of a series. I had no difficulty reading this book and understanding what was happening as the last book's focus was on a different character. I do plan on reading the first in the series and any that come after.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Baker Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Calico Brides

Calico Brides is a collection of four novellas featuring women of the Ladies Sewing Circle in historic Calico, Kansas. Each novella focuses on a certain member of the the sewing circle. The four women are Ruth, Birdie, Gladys, and Annie. Each member decides to take on a certain missionary project in the town of Calico. Ruth decides to help a family of orphans, Annie knits clothing for soldiers at the nearby fort, Birdie helps women from the saloon get their lives in order, and Gladys helps a crotchety recluse. Each woman's endeavor inevitably leads to love.

I really enjoyed these stories and I am giving Calico Brides 4 out of 5 stars. Each woman's story was very touching and their missionary projects were extremely inspirational. The entire book was filled with Christian wisdom and love, which I enjoyed. This book actually had more "Christianity" in it than most Christian books I've read, but it never came across off as preachy. Each young woman was so godly while still being human. I especially enjoyed the story of Birdie, a former prostitute. I loved how her story portrayed God's Love for us as sinners and how he's so willing to forgive us. She really was the epitome of the "born again" message. 

According to the Romancing America blog, this book will be the last in the series. Unless I misunderstood, I'm just assuming from the date listed on the blog. It says as of May 2013 Barbour Publishing will shift their focus to "3-in-1 collections of stories that had previously been published as single Heartsong Presents books." I'm not entirely sure what that means as I am only vaguely familiar with Heartsong and have never actually read any. Even though I've only read two books so far in the Romancing America series, I'll be sad to see no new books coming out. Goodreads lists 55 books in the series so there is always plenty more of reading I can do in the series, of course!

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of Netgalley and Barbour Publishing, Inc. in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Trouble in Store

Trouble in Store is the story of Melanie who is an Ohio governess with a very tricky child under her care. After an accident which she is blamed for, she is fired from her job with seemingly no where to go. She then remembers a letter from her deceased cousin which compels her to move to Arizona with the intent of claiming her cousin's belongings and hopefully being invited to live and work at the store he co-owned. Once she arrives there she finds her cousin's partner's nephew is actually in charge of the store now and he's not very willing to share the store with her, nor is he very inviting of her presence at all- but thankfully he tolerates her. During her time at the store she and the nephew, Caleb, get involved in a murder mystery which separates them from the rest of the town and brings them both closer together.

I didn't really know what I would think of this story. Before reading it, I didn't even realize that it was part mystery. I love mysteries, even though the mystery in this book was more of a side-story at first, by the end it does become the main focus of the storyline. I found the mystery intriguing enough and I suspected almost everyone in the small town of Cedar Ridge at one point or the other. The book also proved to have some tense action-packed moments as well.

The romance flowed nicely. I made a comment on my Goodreads profile that I wasn't sure how the author would steer the reader into Caleb's favor as the romantic interest. He was not very likable for the first half of the book. The romance flowed so slowly that it made it more believable when they did eventually fall in love. It never felt cheesy or forced. Don't be afraid that the book might be boring because I said the romance flows slowly- because it's not boring. There's another very likable love interest, Will. At times, I really thought the author might go with Will as Melanie's main man even though it would go against tradition. What I mean by that is, Caleb was a main character and in romances the two main characters always overcome their differences and come together. Will was just a side character. He was so likable though, I almost wish Melanie would have chosen him. I also liked how even though there were two good possibilities for Melanie's romantic interest it never came to a love triangle or anything like that. Love triangles are so cliche and I'm glad the author was unique enough not to let it come to that.

I also enjoyed the humor in this book. The story could have gotten quite tense and stressful but humor really kept this story in a lighter ambiance. I also really enjoyed the setting of Arizona and sort of getting a sneak peek into its history. I haven't done very much traveling, but I have been to Arizona a few times and it's a state I absolutely adore. I've traveled to nearly all ends of the state and northern Arizona is a setting I haven't found in many books. 

All in all, I am giving Trouble in Store 4 out of 5 stars and I can say I am very glad that I read it. I enjoyed how it encompassed a few different genres without getting confusing or messy. I would describe this book as a historical fiction set in the wild west with a dash of romance and mystery and a morsel of action. 

I received an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book courtesy of NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Hill Country Cattleman

Hill Country Cattleman is my first Harlequin book. In the big scope of things, just recently did I start reading romances. I stayed away from Harlequin for the most part because I feared they'd be really cheesy. I didn't find that was totally the case though.

Hill Country Cattleman is about Violet Brookfield, who travels from England to Texas to avoid a scandal overseas after she became romantically involved with a playboy Earl. To save her good name, her brother Edward,  packs her up and ships her off for Texas to stay with her other brother Nick and his wife Milly. While in Texas, Violet is determined to make the most of it by doing research for the western novel she is writing. While there she meets a sweet and good-looking cowboy named Raleigh. Raleigh is enough to make her forget all about the Earl she left behind in England.

This book was actually really good, it was sweet and had some action to it. The villain in this book would probably be in my top ten most annoying villains of all time. He was so nasty. I hated him. After the romance came in it did get a bit cheesy. Raleigh called Violet "sweetheart" so much that I felt nauseous. Every single thing he said to her seemed like it either began or ended with "sweetheart". It was a little much. It's just small details like that that can take a book from romantic to cheesy real quick. Despite that, the book was still good and I give my first Harlequin Love Inspired Historical 4 out of 5 stars.

This book is actually the sixth in a series called Brides of Simpson Creek. However, I feel I was able to read this book without any problems due to not reading the first five. Each book has different characters, but the books focus on the town of Simpson Creek and a group of women called the Spinsters Club. In each book I guess each spinster finds love. I would really like to go back and read the first five now and find out in depth about the lives of the various couples that were mentioned in this book.