Justice Delayed

justice-delayed Author: Patricia Bradley

Series: Memphis Cold Case #1

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: January 31, 2017

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

An investigation into a cold case brings old secrets to life and danger to all involved.

Andi Hollister has become a hot television crime reporter with her investigations into cold cases. However, her next investigation hits a little too close to home, which is the death of her sister over eighteen years ago. There is a man behind bars that confessed to the murder and his execution date is coming soon. His cousin is Detective Will Kincaide who has just been promoted to the Cold Case Unit and wants to prove his cousin is innocent after a letter surfaces claiming he isn’t the killer. There is less than a week to find the killer and stop the execution. As Will and Andi work together to get justice for her sister, they find more than they bargained for, including police corruption, smuggling and running for their lives.

As the first book in Patricia Bradley’s newest series, she has started off on the right foot. Romantic suspense is hard to write and find the right balance so as not to lose the reader with romance in the middle of the tension. Patricia Bradley is becoming better with every novel. I liked Andi and her spunk. I do feel a few of her issues were left open at the end that needed a little more closure. Will was a top notch cop that had a lot of personal issues, but kept focused on the job at hand. The writing flowed smoothly, especially with the dialogue scenes. The narrative dragged a bit at times with so many characters but that I can only classify as a nit-picking issue. I am finding myself more a fan of Bradley and her writing with each new book and can’t wait to see where she goes with this series. This book will be perfect for fans of Bradley’s work and those that love romantic suspense novels. I recommend Justice Delayed to all that enjoy a good read with a good message.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Rescue Me

rescue-me Author: Susan May Warren

Series: Montana Rescue #2

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: January 31, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

The second book in the Montana Rescue series cranks up the suspense and romance with returning characters and new ones to love.

Sam Brooks is the deputy with the Mercy Falls sheriff’s department and works with the PEAK Rescue team. He likes to keep things in order on the job, in private that is another story. His father died in a skiing accident and since then he has stuck around to take care of his mother while his brother Pete did whatever he wanted. He hopes he has found true love with Sierra Rose. Sierra is also one that likes order, her sister, Willow, is opposite of her in almost every way. Willow has been in love with Sam since the first time she saw him. She has never wanted to cause her sister harm in any way and has kept her feelings to herself, but it is becoming more difficult to keep it bottled up. Willow may be a free spirit, but she has worked hard to get the job of youth pastor at their small town church. While leading a hike in the mountains, Willow and Sam find themselves thrown together in a fight to survive and save the youth with them. As tension mounts, their feelings grow as well, but things get far worse before they get better.

As the second book in Susan May Warren’s Montana Rescue series, the whole gang at PEAK rescue is back and things are heating up. This book focuses on several groups, Sam, Willow, and Sierra along with Pete, Jess and Ty. These groups find themselves thrown together in frightening, and strenuous situations that cause emotions to go haywire. Warren did an excellent job weaving these relationships in a way that allowed each one be believable and fit with the characters. I particularly liked the way Sam worked out his feelings. The wilderness setting and the way the characters dealt with the wilds of nature kept the suspense at a great pace. There were situations that everyone can relate to and learn a lesson from. I can’t wait to see what Warren does with the next book in the series. There are still several characters that have much to be explored. The book was left open for the next in a way that makes me frustrated that I have to wait for it to come out. I love this series and the characters in it. I will be anxiously awaiting the next in the series.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Moving Target

moving-target Author: Lynette Eason

Series: The Elite Guardians #3

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: January 31, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

A game of cat and mouse leaves Maddy McKay and Quinn Holcombe running for their lives while trying to protect their loved ones.

Maddy Mckay is a member of the Elite Guardians, a group that provides protection and helps solve hard cases when needed. She has been working with Quinn Holcombe for a while now and they both can feel their attraction to each other growing. When neither of them show up for a surprise birthday party for Quinn, their friends fear something has happened to them. It isn’t like them to disappear without telling anyone and the more the friends search, the more it becomes clear that Quinn and Maddy didn’t just run away to be together. As their friends are searching, Maddy wakes up in a strange cement room with no memory of how she got there. She finds she isn’t alone. Quinn is with her and they are being hunted by a crazed madman out for revenge. Maddy and Quinn are in his game whether or not they want to be and the rules are being made up as they go. If they don’t find a way to win the game, they won’t make it out alive.

The Elite Guardians is quickly becoming one of my favorite series with this installment being right at the top. The game of cat and mouse had the tension so tight I could hardly turn the pages fast enough. However, I wish the hunt on the island at the beginning would have gone on a little longer. I think there really could have been more developed there to make the story even better. I know this is partly a romance story too, but if that aspect had been toned down just a little bit and focused more on the suspense with Quinn and Maddy being chased, it would have blown the story away. The end didn’t really surprise me too much, I could pretty much see every twist and turn coming in the last 50-100 pages. I’m not sure what the next book in the series is going to focus on but it is going to be hard to top this one. An excellent read that I will recommend to readers that enjoy a fast paced suspense story with a little romance sprinkled throughout.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

In the Shadow of Denali

denali Authors: Tracie Peterson & Kimberley Woodhouse

Series: The Heart of Alaska Book #1

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: January 3, 2017

Rating: 5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Awesome historical fiction about the Curry Hotel along the Alaskan Railroad in the early 1920s.

Allan Brennan has had a lifelong dream of climbing Mount McKinley, or Denali as it is called by the locals. He wanted to climb it with his father back in 1917, but he was a Captain in the US Army during the Great War and missed the expedition that his dad did with his business partner. His dad made the summit, but lost his life during the climb. Six years later, Allan has taken a job as an apprentice guide at the Curry Hotel along the Alaskan Railroad, which is currently the gateway to the new McKinley National Park. When he meets his new boss, he is shocked to find that it was the guide, John Ivanoff, his father hired for the climb back in 2017. Unsure if he can control his anger and frustration with John, Allan tries to find a way to work alongside him. If that doesn’t complicate things, Allan has become infatuated with John’s lovely daughter, Cassidy, who works in the kitchen as the assistant head cook. As Allan gets to know John, he realizes that he is not the man that has been portrayed to him by his late father’s business partner. As he dwells on the past, things about this man don’t start to add up. Can Allan finally uncover the truth about his father’s death? And can he finally let go of his anger against God?

This was my first Tracie Peterson book and I have just found an author who is a master at writing conflict into her story. There was just the right amount needed to keep me hooked throughout the whole story. Never was there a dull moment. And the character development was fantastic. The story follows four main characters, John Ivanoff, Cassidy Ivanoff, Allan Brennan, and Frank Irving. Three of the characters continued to have growth throughout the entire story while the antagonist, Frank, managed to spiral further downward. I felt an instant connection with these characters and felt that I was alongside them rather than reading about them.

The history within the story was well researched too. I’m a little familiar with the railroad, but I had to go and research different parts of the story and found them to be in-line with history. Even the dates of the bridge in the last chapter lined up. I bet it was a sight to see. I recommend this book to history lovers as well as those just needing a great book to kick off the new year!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

A Moonbow Night

a-moonbow-night Author: Laura Frantz

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: January 3, 2017

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Step back into prerevolutionary Kentucke with a tale befitting Daniel Boone himself.

Temperance Tucker has always been smart living out in the Kentucke wilderness with her family. She’s a good shot and quiet as a mouse when out and about in the woods. In fact, people only hear her if she wants to be heard. But she has had her share of family tragedy with her father’s expulsion from Virginia and her own romance’s tragic end. She is content with being at the family home of the Moonbow Inn which has the occasional traveler, mostly surveyors and such. But when Sion Morgan appears in the wilderness one day, she starts to see more to the man than meets the eye. He too has had his share of tragedy in the wilderness, but is now content being a surveyor partner with a map maker for the King. But when the local natives start to close in around their establishments to get them out of the land, can any type of romance succeed? More importantly, will anybody live through it?

Throughout much of this book I found myself drifting back to Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper. Partly because of when it is set, but also just the dynamic between the characters. This one was interesting because of the Kentucky frontier and how everything tied into Daniel Boone. I love it when a story makes me go do my own research to compare the facts to the fiction. Frantz did a great job with the back story of the murder of James Boone and how that tied into Tempe’s life. The scene where Five Killer has captured Sion’s survey team and is leading them back to hack to his camp really paralleled the final scene in Last of the Mohicans as well. I’d say that the author is a fan of this time period and probably of all of The Leatherstocking Tales as well.

If this era of time is of you interest, I highly recommend this book. If you are just a fan of historical fiction, give this one a try as well. Well done.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

All the Breaking Waves

all-the-breaking-waves Author: Kerry Lonsdale

Publisher: Lake Union

Release Date: December 6, 2016

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Sophomore novel from Kerry Lonsdale is another must read!

Molly Brennan has a secret. She is able to emphasize with other people and even has the gift of compulsion to make others do task she commands them in their mind. In fact, all of the women ancestors have been able to do something as well. Unfortunately, this gift has led to a tragic accident that caused her family to be torn apart, causing Molly to leave the town of Pacific Grove, California for good. Now ten years later, Molly has discovered that her eight year old daughter also has abilities, but they are even more dangerous. Cassie has premonitions of events five days before they happen and each day the premonitions get more vivid and Cassie experiences the events, including the pain and potentially even death. Molly must now return to her grandmother at Pacific Grove to help train Cassie to not let her abilities destroy her, but she will be thrust back into the crowd from ten years ago including the soulmate she left behind.

Everything We Keep was a tremendous breakout novel that was extremely thought provoking. This of course meant that I must read Lonsdale’s second novel with nervous anticipation that it wouldn’t be as good as the first. Not to worry, it was just as good, if not better. All the Breaking Waves continued Lonsdale’s trend of a young female lead character in her upper twenties who is really coming into her own. Molly is a very strong character who has been raising her daughter as a single mother. She is a very different character than Aimee Tierney in Everything we Keep in that she is already used to doing things herself, but she isn’t really realizing her true potential in life. Of course there is also some romance thrown in at just the right times. Lonsdale is truly a master of her craft. She has a unique way of blending a little bit of sci-fi into a contemporary setting that the reader finds completely believable. It may also help that the Monterey peninsula is one of my favorite areas, so getting to visit there alongside Molly was a beautiful thing. Needless to say, I am awaiting the next awesome read from Kerry Lonsdale!

There is some mild language throughout the book as well as two scenes that include some mild sexual dialogue. I recommend this book to mature young adults and up!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed throughout are mine.

Wallflower Blooming

wallflower-blooming Author: Amy Rivers

Publisher: Wooden Pants Publishing

Release Date: August 15, 2016

Rating: 3 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Wallflower no more, she is becoming society’s girl.

Val Shakely loves running her small public relations firm in Cambria, Colorado. The best part is, she doesn’t take on political candidates. At least she doesn’t until her cousin Gwen decides to run for mayor. She previously ran for city council and became the youngest person to be elected. Val isn’t looking forward to the campaign either. Her opponent wanted her to be his PR, but she declined and he isn’t used to being told no. However, she starts to run into local businessman John Hatfield more and more frequently, so much so that they actually begin to fall in love. Val finds herself becoming more in the public eye with John and as the campaign turns nasty with the current mayor threatening by John and Val, can they hold it together?

Overall, this was a quick, fairly interesting read. It is a really short book that is just a snapshot in time during a small town election. It really could be more classified as a novella as I could see the two main characters branching off into a more developed story. Even so, the story was primarily about Val, who is a wallflower that enjoys working behind the scenes, fall in love with John who is widely known, but pretty antisocial himself. If you enjoy quick romances, this one will tickle your fancy.

There was some mild sexual dialogue and quite a bit of foul language, so I would recommend this book for mature young adults and up.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Fatal Frost

fatal-frost Author: Nancy Mehl

Series: Defenders of Justice #1

Publisher: Bethany House

Release Date: November 1, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

When the marshal agency that is supposed to keep others safe has one of their own in jeopardy, they will stop at nothing to protect each other.

Mercy Brennan’s father might have been a law enforcement officer, just like her, but that is where the similarities end. She is a U.S. Marshal in St. Louis, Missouri and has been working with a joint task force that has put her back in touch with her father. He left her and her family when she was young and she still hasn’t forgiven him for the pain and hardship he caused them. He has been trying to work his way back into her life and she isn’t sure she can trust him. They both are fighting some of the most powerful gangs in the city and unbeknownst to Mercy, her father has incriminating evidence against some of these gang members. The gangs believe he hands this evidence off to Mercy and they come after her. Her boss assigns her to work with Mark St. Laurent, another Marshal who happens to be her ex-boyfriend. Mercy doesn’t know of the danger she is in and feels she is being treated unfairly, especially when she finds out the lengths her boss and Mark have gone to keep her out of the loop. As they leave town in order to stay safe, they are met with a freak ice storm that strands them in a remote location not knowing who they can trust. With the storm worsening and enemies drawing closer, can they make it out alive?

Writing a romantic suspense can be difficult. Depending on what the reader wants, you can easily have too much of one aspect or the other. Luckily, Mehl did a very nice job of keeping the suspense up and not letting the romance over power the story. This may be my favorite Nancy Mehl book so far. Mercy was a strong character even though she had some tough obstacles to overcome. Mark and Tally where good characters to pair with Mercy. There were a lot of characters to follow, especially when the gang members were added to the mix which made it hard to connect and keep up at times. I’m glad that this is the first in a new series. So many of these characters have potential to grow and I am curious as to who the next book will explore. I think the one thing I had a problem with was the pacing. So many of the pages were bogged down with the narrative tied in with the dialogue making it read much slower. If it had been spaced out with more dialogue and less narrative I think it could have been an even faster read than it was. With that being said I still read it quickly and enjoyed the story. Even though it is dealing with gangs and violence, there isn’t much that would make it unsuitable or need any warnings for readers.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Chaos Comes to Longbourn

chaos-comes-to-lonbourn Author: Victoria Kincaid

Publisher: Victoria Kincaid

Release Date: July 2, 2016

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

If you love Pride and Prejudice and what might have beens, this is the books for you.

Mr. Darcy has been wrestling with his sudden thoughts about Elizabeth Bennett. In an effort to rid himself of the thoughts and the ball he is in attendance at, he decides to retreat to the library where he stumbles upon Elizabeth’s 15 year old sister Lydia, who is only partially dressed after she had been in a love session with someone else. When others arrive, Mr. Darcy is mistaken as an attacker and has no choice but to propose marriage. In an effort to ensure his friend Mr. Bingley doesn’t meet the same fate from Elizabeth’s older sister Jane, Mr. Bingley’s sisters talk him into leaving without the intention of returning. This greatly saddens Jane (and Mr. Bingley), but he leaves anyway. Soon Mr. Collins comes to call on a wife and selects Elizabeth, who promptly turns him down. He then turns to Jane, who no longer has any prospects, agrees to the marriage in a effort to save her family’s home.

Upon arriving home, Mr. Bingley learns that his mother is very ill and will likely not live long. She had hoped to meet the young Bennet girl he had wrote to her about and was even hoping they may already be married. Mr. Bingley tells his mother they are engaged and quickly returns to Longbourn to beg forgiveness of Jane and hopefully propose. Once he arrives, he finds out that she is now betrothed to Mr. Collins. He suddenly gets an idea that maybe he can propose to another Bennett girl in the meantime and after hearing his plan, Elizabeth agrees.

In a love rectangle gone mad, all four couples should never have been together. In fact, only three of the final couples are right for each other. The last couple are both insufferable. Even so, in the end, each gets their own. This was a fun, quick read that had some much play on the original Jane Austen story Pride and Prejudice. The characters all reminded me of the actual book, but some may have been a bit stuffier and more arrogant, if that is possible. For people that enjoy the what might have been, this will be a great book to read. Even if you haven’t read Pride and Prejudice, it is still worth it to pick it up and get a laugh.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Poetic Book Tours. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

Where Two Hearts Meet

where-two-hearts-meet Author: Liz Johnson

Series: Prince Edward Island Dreams #2

Publisher: Revell

Release Date: October 18, 2016

Rating: 4 Stars

Reviewer: Jessica Higgins

Sometimes love happens when you least expect it with someone you would expect!

Caden Holt has been the executive chef at the Red Door Inn on Prince Edward Island since it opened. She loves her work and also that she has time to teach cooking classes to youth in her town. But all that may come to a screeching halt when she learns that the Inn is in financial trouble. Her boss (and best friend) Marie has just received a letter that they will be receiving a mystery guest at the inn who is a journalist for a bed and breakfast magazine that will review their stay and possibly put their inn on the cover of the magazine. Now Caden just has to figure out how to keep the mystery guest extremely happy throughout his or her stay.

Adam Jacobs is going on a forced sabbatical after his writing assignment in the Middle East resulted in the death of a young marine. Racked with guilt, his editor sends him to Prince Edward Island to rest at the Red Door Inn. But this is not what Adam had in mind. He is used to the hustle and bustle of Washington DC and doesn’t know if he will be able to actually rest, much less overcome his writer’s block. He eventually begins researching and begins to find connections between the church in Boston that hosted the young marine’s funeral and the owner of the Red Door Inn. What if his editor sent him here for a reason? Possibly to blow open a big story that no one knows about?

This was a really quick and fun romance read. It is the second in a series, but easily stands alone on its own. The two main characters are flawed, but easily compensate each other. Not to mention how insufferable one of the supporting characters was. Johnson did a really good job of setting scenery around the island to really bring the reader to the setting. There wasn’t much focus on the inn itself, but it is possible that it was created in the first book. Now I’m going to have to go read that one.

Overall, I really enjoyed the story. I’m looking forward to more tales from the Red Door Inn. If you enjoy clean romance novels that have some fun sprinkled in, then this one is for you!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.