The Accused (Secrets to Keep #2), book #24

 

Yep, you read that right -- book #2.  Let's back up.  As you remember from this last post  I said I was going to skip book #2 (remember, these are not cheap Kindle books) and go straight to book #3.  Well, I did. But as I was reading it, I realized THINGS HAPPENED in book 2 that I felt like I needed to know the back story.  I was about 30% through book 3 and I thought to myself ... Self, are you going to stop where you are and go back and read book 2?  Should I wait until I finish this book before I go back?  Or do I need to stop right now and see what happened, then come back and pick this up?  ... After reading another chapter or two I realized I did indeed need to go back RIGHT NOW and read book 2.  I'm really enjoying the author's writing/story/characters so why not?

So here is where it gets a little weird.  Maybe it's my fault for not reading the summary, but the book was really not about what I thought it was going to be about.  Don't get me wrong, it was still a great book!  It's just that what I thought it was going to be about the THINGS HAPPENED things, was only a very small subplot of the book.  But I'm still glad I read it, because I do love most everything about this series.  

I love how she occassionally throws in big words that I have to look up.  I love the character developement.  I love the plots and how it all comes together.  The only thing I don't like is that this amazing story that you have been so invested in wraps up really fast on the last or next to last page.  There is no Epilogue or breathing room once you see how it all ends up.  But other than that, I highly recommend these books!  

When a popular college student is murdered, her international roommate, Anneliese, becomes a prime suspect. But law professor Margeaux Robbins doesn't believe that the quiet, lonely German girl in her class is the killer.  Chase Crandall is a burned-out defense attorney ready to extricate himself from the grind of criminal law. After he loses a client to tragedy, he's ready for an in-house corporate position.  When Chase is assigned to Anneliese's case, Margeaux is horrified. She doesn’t want him to provide legal counsel—not after what happened to his past client. And not with the evidence incriminating Anneliese.  Despite their mutual misgivings, the lawyer and professor pair up to find the killer and prove Anneliese's innocence. Will they be able to untangle the mystery—and navigate their growing interest in one another—before the wrong person is charged with murder?  (picture and description at Amazon)

Now back to book 3!

Keep reading!

Melissa

The Vanished (Secrets to Keep #1), book #23

 

So, as I mentioned in the last post, I decided to go ahead and read the series of the next book for the Christian Fiction Reading Challenge.  I was pretty bummed when I realized that the three books were NOT in my library and they are NOT ones that are less expensive.  But the sounded good so I decided to go ahead.  I got the first one and really loved it, and as I was drawing near to the end, I could see how she could potentially drag the plot out through all three books, like the other series.  However, this book 1 wrapped everything up really fast on the last page and BOOM!  That was that!  

Then I said to myself, 'Hhm, what is the next book about?' So I checked and it is just another story with another one the characters in this same cute town, but not necessarily a continuation.  Thus, I have decided to skip The Accused (book #2) and go straight into The Targeted (book #3).

I did enjoy this book a lot, although it was interesting to me that it ALSO dealt with art and provenance, etc, since I have now read three books in the past year or so about it.  It was a whole world I knew nothing about until I started reading these books.  The story kept me on my toes, but I did not like how it wrapped everything up in a neat little bow on the last page or two.  

Janae Simmons left the small town of Kedgewick, Virginia, ten years ago to pursue her legal career and never looked back--until a professional mistake leads her to her grandmother's historic carriage house and to the town where her past threatens to find her. The quiet streets echo with her grandfather's sterling reputation, one that conflicts with fresh questions that claw at Janae, launching her on a reluctant journey to unearth his secrets. When her new job at a local law firm doesn't live up to expectations, she wonders if coming home was the right decision.  Carter Montgomery starts his art preservation career with the only job he can get—director at the Elliott Museum of Art. At least Kedgewick is a nice enough town to provide him and his nephew with a safe place to grieve the loss of Carter's sister. But Carter's calm days disappear when an elderly woman claims two paintings in the museum's collection were stolen from her family during World War II.  Carter enlists Janae's help to unravel the legal labyrinth of art ownership, and the peaceful facade of Kedgewick morphs into a hot bed of secrets. When an attorney turns up dead and Janae uncovers another painting, what began as a simple legal issue spirals into a race against time. As the web of intrigue tightens, the duo must confront a looming question: What dark truths lie beneath the surface, waiting to be exposed? (picture and description from Amazon)

Only a few more days till I get back to school and while I have enjoyed lazy mornings I love my job so much I can't wait to get back! 

O:)

Melissa

More than Friends, book #22

 

Cute book, but very similar to the one I just read.  Girl moves back home, ends up in love with boy next door .... etc etc

Jenna Greene just ended things with her boyfriend . . . which also ended her career. (That's the risk a girl takes when her boyfriend doubles as her boss.) With no income and no job prospects in sight, Jenna is forced to return to her mother's house on Chincoteague Island, Virginia, to figure out what's next. And the timing couldn't be more perfect. Jenna's widowed mother has just returned from a cruise--with a brand-new boyfriend in tow. But there's something off about the guy. His story doesn't quite add up, and he keeps sneaking off to make suspicious phone calls and borrowing money from her too-trusting mother.  In search of some investigative help, Jenna turns to her childhood BFF, Tyson Parker, who lives and works in town. Still reeling from his wife's infidelity, Tyson is doing his best to heal from the pain of divorce. He's made a name for himself on the island as a volunteer firefighter and one of the much-admired saltwater cowboys who looks after Chincoteague's wild ponies. Oh, and he turned out to be more than a tiny bit attractive--besides being almost-too-good-to-be-true sweet and caring.  Growing up, the uber-competitive Jenna was always accepted as one of the guys. But things have changed between her and Tyson, and he's now looking at her through new eyes. Jenna suddenly feels like a leading lady on a movie set--only with way less composure.  But Jenna also has old wounds that make these new feelings seem fraught with peril. Is she willing to open her heart and see where love might lead? Or will she let her hesitant heart hold her back?  (picture and description at Amazon)

This book was the July selection for the Christian Fiction Reading Challenge.  I wasn't necessarily going to read it now, but someone mentioned the August book was #3 in a series and they wanted to read the other two first.  Since When Justice Comes made so much more sense when I read the first two, I decided to go ahead and start on the August series.  Sadly, they are not at the library and are not cheap books on Amazon :(  But from what I have read so far of it, it should be good!!

Only two more weeks before I'm back at school!

Melissa

On Hummingbird Wings, book #21

 

A nice break from the heavy stuff I have been reading!  It was a quick read because it drew me in fast.  Gave me several thoughts about what it might be like if I was "dying" and how my girls might respond.

"But Mother is always dying," is Gillian Ormsby's sarcastic response when her younger, favored sister tells her that she has to go take care of their hypochondriac mother. Begrudgingly, Gillian arrives in California to find the garden and yard dead, the blinds all drawn, and her mother indeed waiting to die. But when Gillian talks with the doctor, he assures her there's no medical reason behind her mother's state.  Gillian insists Mother get out of bed, eat, exercise and hopefully, choose to live. She also sets about reviving the garden to its former glory, enlisting the help of Adam, a handsome man who owns a family gardening business with his father. Gillian is delighted when a pair of hummingbirds appear, and her friendship with Adam grows.  Soon, Mother's health improves, and one day she announces she and her friend Enzio are going on a cruise. Before Gillian has time to turn around, her mother is gone and she is left high and dry again, and wondering, what is she going to do with the rest of her own life?   (picture and description at Amazon)

Gonna get started on the Christian Fiction book for July so I will have time to read all three book in the series for August! 

Hope you are enjoying summer reading!

MeLissa

Until We Find Home, book #20

 

Wow but wow but wow!  It took a while to get into this, but once I was hooked I was hooked!  This poor girl was so mixed up with so may emotions and situations, but once she worked through all of them (about 80% of the way through!) she had her head on straight and did what needed to be done.  Loved the characters, loved the detailed writing to help me "see" the locations, loved the history mixed in to teach me things that didn't come up in my class books & loved the ending.   Highly recommend!

For American Claire Stewart, joining the French Resistance sounded as romantic as the storylines she hopes will one day grace the novels she wants to write. But when she finds herself stranded on English shores, with five French Jewish children she smuggled across the channel before Nazis stormed Paris, reality feels more akin to fear.  With nowhere to go, Claire throws herself on the mercy of an estranged aunt, begging Lady Miranda Langford to take the children into her magnificent estate. Heavily weighted with grief of her own, Miranda reluctantly agrees . . . if Claire will stay to help. Though desperate to return to France and the man she loves, Claire has few options. But her tumultuous upbringing―spent in the refuge of novels with fictional friends―has ill-prepared her for the daily dramas of raising children, or for the way David Campbell, a fellow American boarder, challenges her notions of love. Nor could she foresee how the tentacles of war will invade their quiet haven, threatening all who have come to call Bluebell Wood home and risking the only family she’s ever known. (photo and description at Amazon)

I'm thinking it's time for another mystery thriller ...

Keep up summer reading!

Melissa

Run for the Hills, book #19

 

So, this book.  Hhm.  How do I feel about this book?  Quite honestly I'm not entirely sure.  

Rebecca got it for me for Christmas, as he is a Tennessee author and she thought I would like it.  The description sounded like it would be a fun read:

Ever since her dad left them twenty years ago, it’s been just Madeline Hill and her mom on their farm in Coalfield, Tennessee. While it’s a bit lonely, she sometimes admits, and a less exciting life than what she imagined for herself, it’s mostly okay. Mostly.  Then one day Reuben Hill pulls up in a PT Cruiser and informs Madeline that he believes she’s his half sister. Reuben—left behind by their dad thirty years ago—has hired a detective to track down their father and a string of other half siblings. And he wants Mad to leave her home and join him for the craziest kind of road trip imaginable to find them all.  As Mad and Rube—and eventually the others—share stories of their father, who behaved so differently in each life he created, they begin to question what he was looking for with every new incarnation. Who are they to one another? What kind of man will they find? And how will these new relationships change Mad’s previously solitary life on the farm?  Infused with deadpan wit, zany hijinks, and enormous heart, Run for the Hills is a sibling story like no other—a novel about a family forged under the most unlikely circumstances and united by hope in an unknown future. (pic and description from Amazon)

But was it really fun?  Yes and no.  I had trouble getting into it at first because I didn't much care for the writing style (a personal preference) and it was only the first two kids.  As the others were added it did pick up some, but I would hardly call it filled with zany hijinks.  I almost felt like there was more that one person writing it, as parts were really, really good, other parts took off on ways that did NOT sound like the author at all (all the basketball stuff), and the end was a major let down.  

All that to say ... last night when Katie casually asked me at supper what the book was about I went into a long 15-20 minute explanation, first about what actually happened and then about what the book was about (you will understand after you read it! 😊) and then I explained what happened in the book.  And as I was telling the story it was pretty unbelieveable, because of course I was adding crazy to it.  After a long deep sigh, I asked, 'So do you guys want to read it?' They just looked at me and said, 'Well, we don't need to read it now...' 

All in all, I'm ready to get back to my pioneers and indians or Civil War or something after these last few books! 🤣

Happy Summer Reading!

Melissa

To Win a Crown (True Blue Royal Book 3), book #18

 

Well, this was another Christian Fiction Readers Challenge book and even though I decided not to read the first two, I think I have a good idea about how these folks got to where they are today.  I wouldn't mind going back and reading them at some time, but not right now.

Cute book. good plot and drama, enough love to keep me happy.  Here is the thing that I kept thinking, though.  Rachel Hauck has written a plethora of books about royal families and I just wonder if she has some royal blood in her or if she just does A LOT of research.  I haven't read one of her "royal" books lately, but this one had a lot of rules, guidelines, laws, etc in it, along with all these different places.  How on earth does she come up with all these different names of countries and areas and castles and ... and ... and .... I look forward to asking that question on our Zoom meeting later this month! 

Scottie O'Shay has built a perfect life as creative director of her family's Tennessee fashion empire — until a reporter's exposé reveals she's the secret daughter of the Queen of Lauchtenland. Flying to Europe for answers, she's thrown into palace intrigue, ancient rivalries, and the steady gaze of Michael Cross — the bodyguard whose quiet strength makes her feel dangerously at home.  Michael has loved and lost. He won't risk his heart again — especially not on an American heiress with one foot already on a plane home.  But when a late-night kiss in a hidden doorway melts duty into devotion, neither one can pretend anymore. Then devastating news from Tennessee shatters the fairy tale, and Scottie faces an impossible choice: the safe life she built, or the uncharted kingdom where a crown — and a love she's barely begun to claim — wait for her. (picture and description at Amazon)

Not sure what is next, but I'm excited to finally be off for my half summer break from work!

Keep up the summertime reading!

O:)

Melissa