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Edge of Dusk by Colleen Coble

Description

Even though secrets lie off the coast of Rock Harbor, the truth will set Annie Pederson free—if it doesn’t kill her first. Return to the beloved town of Rock Harbor in the first installment of a new series by bestselling suspense author Colleen Coble.

Nine-year-old Annie Pederson’s life changed the night her sister was kidnapped. The two had been outside playing on a dock, and Annie never forgave herself for her role in her sister’s disappearance. Twenty-four years later and now a law enforcement ranger, Annie is still searching for answers as she grieves a new loss: the death of her husband and parents in a boating accident.

But Annie and her eight-year-old daughter, Kylie, aren’t the only people in the town of Rock Harbor whose lives have been marred by tragedy. While managing the property around the Tremolo Resort and Marina she inherited, Annie discovers a dead body floating in the cold Superior surf and begins to work with the sheriff’s office to tie the death to a series of other mysterious reports in the area.

At the same time, her first love, Jon Dustan, returns after nine years away, reigniting the town’s memory of a cold case he’d been suspiciously linked to before he left to pursue his orthopedic residency. For the sake of her investigation and her heart, Annie tries to stay away. But avoiding Jon becomes impossible once Annie realizes she is being targeted by someone desperate to keep secrets from the past hidden.

In this new series, bestselling romantic-suspense author Colleen Coble returns to one of her most beloved towns, where familiar faces—and unsolved cases—await.

**My Thoughts: Annie Pederson’s life has been full of loss. When she inherited the Tremolo Resort and Marina she quickly finds herself in another mysterious death. When she teams up with the Sheriff and and old love the suspense and secrets puts her in danger and targeted. Mystery, suspense and a little romance… good stuff!

I requested a copy through NetGalley, my opinion and review are voluntary.

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His Amish Sweetheart and The Amish Quiltmaker’s Unconventional Niece by Jennifer Beckstrand

Description

Fondly nicknamed “The Peanut Butter Brothers,” Andrew, Abraham, and Austin Petersheim skillfully run one of Wisconsin’s most cherished family businesses. But their mischievous younger twin siblings have a talent all their own—for matchmaking . . .

Between work and keeping his little brothers out of trouble, Austin Petersheim barely has time to think, much less court the most popular maidel in town. But if he can establish a local market to direct-sell his family’s goods, he’ll stand out as a potential husband. He’s so grateful for the help of his longtime friend, Hannah Yutzy, who has such practical ideas—and is so easy to talk to . . .

While Austin embarks on his plan, his siblings have a plan of their own: to give Austin and Hannah a little nudge to show them they’re made for each other. When their antics wreak havoc with a rival family emporium, Hannah must help Austin set things right.  And as she does just that, Austin is stunned to realize his best friend could be his perfect wife. Now he’ll just need the courage and faith to find out if she agrees . . .

Praise for Jennifer Beckstrand and Andrew

“Fans of Dee Henderson will relish Beckstrand’s clever plot and moving ruminations on the nature of forgiveness.” –Publishers Weekly

**My Thoughts: What a fun story. Hannah has been a longtime friend to Austin and such a great help as he establishes a local market to sell his family’s goods. As the twins work in the background the shenanigans begin. This authors stories are always full of lighthearted fun and a joy to read.

I was gifted a copy through NetGalley, my opinion and review are voluntary.

Description

Resourceful Colorado Amish quiltmaker Esther Kiem has her hands full with husband, home, and a baby on the way. But putting her skills to the test for an outspoken niece who’s running for town council is a matchmaking challenge she can’t resist. Infused with her signature humor and saturated with heart, award-winning, USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Beckstrand blends quilting, mischief, and matchmaking for the third Amish Quiltmaker romance – perfect for fans of Charlotte Hubbard, Wanda Brunstetter, and Linda Byler.

Mattie Zook always stands up for what’s right—which is why she’s been exiled from her Pennsylvania Dutch home to her Aunt Esther’s farm. Outraged at local discrimination against the Amish, she’s using her rumschpringe to run for town council. Esther can only hope that sensible local farmer Freeman Sensenig will help Mattie—and keep her from going too far. But Mattie is soon finding her new campaign manager all too appealing . . .

Freeman never thought that the standoffish, opinionated Mattie would care so much about others. Even more amazing, their differences are somehow making her campaign successful—and have him hoping for more of a future with her. But unexpected obstacles and a sudden romantic rival will put their growing closeness to the test—and give them only one chance to truly reconcile their hearts . . .

** My Thoughts: When Esther needs help with her home, and the new baby on the way, she calls on her niece Mattie Zook. Mattie is outspoken and deemed standoffish and opinionated by Freeman. Once he gets involved with her campaign to run for Mayor because of what she sees as a discrimination against the Amish, he finds just maybe his opinion may not hold true. Some bad things going on behind the scenes and a little romantic rivalry made this an interesting story showing a little different side of the Amish community.

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Free Fall by Nancy Mehl

Description

The closer she comes to the truth, the deadlier her chase gets.

FBI behavioral analyst Alex Donovan and her colleague Logan Hart have been called upon to write a profile for a missing woman, but a little digging quickly turns up more disappearances in Virginia with the same physical description.

Alex is in a race against the clock to rescue the missing victims, so when the UNSUB makes demands of her in exchange for information, Alex takes the bait. But when her life is put in jeopardy, Logan must do whatever it takes to track them down before time runs out.

Alex works to think one step ahead of the suspect, but the more Logan and the BAU learn about the serial kidnapper, the more they fear Alex may not make it out alive.

My Thoughts: What a race against the clock! Alex and Logan take on a serial kidnapper and time is running out. This one kept me on the edge of my seat wondering just who and how they would get the take down.

I was gifted a copy through NetGalley, my opinion and review are voluntary.

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The Last Savanna by Mike Bond

Description

As ivory poachers are gunning down Africa’s last elephants, former SAS officer Ian MacAdam leads a commando squad against them. He pursues the poachers through jungled mountains and searing deserts, only to find they have kidnapped a young archaeologist, Rebecca Hecht, whom he once loved and bitterly lost.

He embarks on a desperate trek to save not only Rebecca but his own soul in an Africa torn apart by wars, overpopulation and the slaughter of its last wildlife.

Based on the author’s own experiences pursuing elephant poachers in the wilds of East Africa, The Last Savanna is an intense personal memoir of humanity’s ancient heartland, the beauty of its perilous deserts, jungles, and savannas, and the deep, abiding power of love.

My thoughts. I just took a trip through the last Savanna and it was one tough trip! Lions, hyenas, snakes, poachers and human predators. You’d better sleep with one eye open with this one! Looking for poachers became a hunt for a missing woman. This was a very descriptive story. The story was eye opening and just a little too descriptive in the romance scene but what hardships and how real were the life taking scenes.
I was gifted a copy from the publisher through NetGalley, my opinion and review is voluntary.

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Love Blooms in Morning Star by Charlotte Hubbard

Description

In the fourth Maidels of Morning Star novel by fan-favorite author Charlotte Hubbard, the five unmarried Amish friends who teamed up to transform an abandoned barn into the Morning Star Marketplace tackle the latest stumbling block to their success. When the elders vote to forbid any maidel to work after marriage, the rule forces one of them to make the choice between running the store she’s put so much effort into and the man she loves.

As Jo Fussner keeps the Marketplace humming, her heart dances with a joyous secret. Jo and Michael Wengerd, a shy nursery owner from a nearby town, have fallen hopelessly in love. When Michael buys a courting buggy, Jo is sure a proposal will follow. But she’ll have to work hard to gain her mother’s approval—because the widowed Drusilla Fussner is convinced that marriage will bring her daughter nothing but heartache.

To win Jo’s hand, Michael enlists his father’s help in convincing Drusilla to give the marriage her blessing—and perhaps even open her heart to new happiness of her own. . . . But just as Jo and Michael’s hope for their future grows, an even bigger obstacle looms. The Amish elders vote to forbid any maidel from working once she marries. Now Jo must choose between the beloved store she’s put her heart into, and the man she can’t live without. Conflicted, Jo will have to trust that anything is possible when true faith guides the way . . .

My Thoughts: Another Amish friend is featured in this Morning Star novel and I really enjoyed going back and visiting the Marketplace and the community that makes it such an interesting place to visit. Family, faith and the choices in life are what makes life interesting. I enjoyed how Jo keeps the Marketplace humming!

I received a copy through NetGalley and my opinion and review are voluntary.

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Cold Case Killer Profile by Jessica R. Patch

Description

The desert can hide many secrets…
including murder.

Searching for the perfect morning landscape to paint leads forensic artist Brigitte Linsey straight to a dead body—and a narrow escape from the Sunrise Serial Killer still on the scene. Now she’s become unfinished business and new prey. Working with FBI special agent Duke Jericho could mean putting the murderer away for good. However, it’s just a matter of time before this diabolically clever predator turns his hunters into the hunted…

From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.

My Thoughts: If you love those hold your breath, what next and who is it?? kind of books.. This one’s for you! This one is totally one of courage, danger and faith. The suspense kept me turning the pages with that who, who is it until it was finished!

I was gifted a copy through NetGalley, my opinion and review are voluntary.

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Five and Dime Christmas by Susanne Dietze; Patty Smith Hall; Cynthia Hickey; Christina Lorenzen

Description

Christmas Is a Time for Romance at a 1880s Department Store

Visit Scranton, Pennsylvania, in 1881 where the Woodworth’s Five and Dime has become the center of Christmas commerce—and a great place to fall in love.

A Merry Little Christmas by Susanne Dietze
Woolworth’s store clerk Hattie Scott’s heart is touched by a handsome customer, but when she takes on additional secretarial work to earn money for Christmas, she learns her new boss is Englishman Timothy Branson—her favorite customer. . .and a threat to her brother’s job! Can two proud hearts overcome their differences to help her brother. . .and find love?

A Home for Christmas by Patty Smith Hall
Essie Banfield doesn’t need money but welcomes the challenges of working a job where she meets a minister and six little boys who inspire Christmas wishes. But will Pastor Max Warner trust that she is more than just a socialite with charitable intentions?

The Light of Christmas by Christina Lorenzen
A job is the only thing independent orphan Lizzie Miller needs, and Henry Kimball is singularly focused on proving his success outside the family business. But could the lure of an old-fashioned family Christmas bring them together?

Lunch with Maggie by Cynthia Hickey
Maggie Larson works the lunch counter where she befriends a girl who’s lonely father delivers milk each Friday. Friday’s noon hour becomes the highlight of Maggie’s week, but after being left at the altar, she closed her heart to love and to God. Will Seth Jamison be able to unlock her heart?

My Thoughts: What a delightful way to start my Christmas reading. The stories all take place in a Woolworth’s store and just touch that holiday spirit of the season. Each was different but each had that family, faith and Christmas connection.

I was gifted a copy through NetGalley, my review and opinion are voluntary.

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Inventions of the Heart by Mary Connealy

Description

Her heart seeks safety. But will trouble find her even here?

After her sister’s marriage, Michelle Stiles is left hiding at Two Harts Ranch with the handsome but stubborn Zane Hart. She’s managed to stay one step ahead of her stepfather and his devious plans, but if he finds her, she will no longer be safe.

Zane has problems of his own. Having discovered a gold mine on his property, he must figure out how to harvest it without kicking off a gold rush. Michelle, educated and trained to run her father’s business, wants to manage all aspects of the mine, but Zane thinks for a person so smart she can have some misguided ideas. Running the mining operation will be a dangerous job, and he can’t risk putting her in harm’s way.

But danger finds Michelle anyway when she’s suddenly attacked. If they go to the sheriff, they’ll reveal her location, but if they do nothing . . . their troubles have only just begun.

My Thoughts: This is another series I have truly enjoyed. A wonderful story of how greed can cause people to do things you would never expect of them. As Michelle only wants to go home and help run the family business she finds herself the object of a suitor promised her hand in marriage. Danger, family and marriage made for another interesting story in the Stiles saga.

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A Daughter’s Courage by Misty M Beller

Description

Her quest to repair what’s been broken leads to imminent danger–and soon it’s more than her own life on the line.

After accidentally destroying the intricately carved chalice her people have treasured for over a hundred years, Charlotte Durand sets out in search of a skilled artisan who can repair the damage. What she expected to be a two-day trek becomes much more daunting when a treacherous snowstorm sets in.

Searching for solitude and respite from his troubling past, the last thing Damien Levette needs in the middle of a mountain blizzard is to tend to another person, but he can’t leave behind the mysterious woman he finds half frozen at the edge of a mountain lake.

As they battle both the elements and their distrust of each other, Charlotte and Damien must work together to survive the peril of the mountains–or it could be the downfall of them both.

MY THOUGHTS: Charlotte’s 2 day journey becomes a journey of danger, courage, faith and romance. The author’s descriptions are wonderful, they bring such clear pictures to your mind as we journey along with them. This is one series I may have to read again.

I was gifted a copy through NetGalley, my opinion and review are voluntary.

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Another batch of reviews: A Healer’s Promise, In Honor’s Defense, The Heart of the Mountains

She was called to be a healer, but her skills–and heart–have never been so challenged.

Levi Masters’s time as a British spy hasn’t ended, though his country’s war with America has. After overhearing a scout reveal a discovery that could give America the upper hand in future conflicts, Levi is sent on one last mission. While trekking through the Canadian Rockies in pursuit of his former enemy, he is taken captive by warriors from a hidden mountain village.

Village healer Audrey Moreau is more curious than afraid of the outsider, and she’s drawn to his commitment to honesty even at his own expense. Despite her arguments for his release, the council remains at an impasse. Compelled to help him escape, she sneaks him out of the village. But when Levi faces a life-threatening injury and the fierce mountain winter closes in, Levi and Audrey are forced to discover just how far they’ll go to ensure the safety of the other and the love growing between them.

MY THOUGHTS: In a small hidden village in the Canadian Rockies, a friendship grows between the village healer and a captured scout, a possible enemy. After she helps him escape they are forced to camp out in a cave during a winter snow storm sets in. This author has a gift for description, of scenery, hardships and of a special relationships you can really picture in your mind. This is the second in a series and I really looking forward to the next book. I was gifted a copy from the publisher through NetGalley, my opinion and review are voluntary.

He’s Faced Countless Perils on the Battlefield, but Nothing so Dangerous as Falling in Love.

Luke Davenport has been fighting all his life–for respect, for country, and for those unable to fight for themselves. But now that his Horsemen brothers are domesticated, he’s left alone to battle the wildness within. When an opportunity arises to take a job on his own, tracking down a group of rustlers, he jumps at the chance.

Damaris Baxter has mastered the art of invisibility. Plain and quiet, she hides in books and needlework, content to be overlooked. Until her brother dies suddenly, leaving her custody of her nephew. She moves to Texas to care for Nathaniel, determined to create the family for herself that she never thought she’d have and to give him the family he desperately needs.

When Nate finds himself knee-deep in trouble, Luke’s attempt to protect him leaves Damaris feeling indebted to the Horseman. But suspicions grow regarding the mysterious death of Damaris’s brother. And the more questions they ask, the more danger appears, threatening the family Luke may be unable to live without.

MY THOUGHTS: When the Horsemen settle down, there is one man left to answer the call for help in Texas rounding up rustlers. When her brother dies suddenly she is the one to answer a call to head for Texas to care for her nephew. Well, they are both called to the same place and when trouble comes calling they both find working together is unavoidable. This story drew me in and I had a hard time putting it down. Just had to know what the next page held. I was gifted a copy from the publisher through NetGalley, my review and opinion are voluntary.

Can their hearts overcome the darkness of the mountains?
 
To escape a forced marriage, Cora Taylor travels from England to the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of her brother, who is working as a teacher in a mission school. She hopes to find a place where her nursing skills and independent ideas will be accepted and appreciated, but nothing prepares her for the wild mixture of isolation, community, brokenness, and hope within these mountains…or in the person of Jeb McAdams.
 
Returning from the devastation of World War 1 emotionally damaged, Jeb McAdams struggles against the rampant mountain alcoholism to soothe his nightmares. It’s easy to hide within the mountains, or it was, before Cora Taylor arrived. Now, she seems to show up at every turn, bringing her modern ideas, curiosity, and beautiful eyes with her.
 
Bound by their shared war history, the pair develop an unlikely friendship, which unexpectedly hints to something more. But when Cora’s desire to help the women of the mountains crosses an unspoken line, will Jeb be able to protect this feisty flatlander from the wrath of the mountain men or will he end up losing much more than his heart? 

MY THOUGHTS: This takes place in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Cora has arrived here to find her brother and hopes to start a new life. I knew in the first pages this was going to be a delightful and fun read! Yes, the superstitions and poverty of this mountain area were sometimes hard to fathom, it just made this story all the better. This is one that will draw you in and maybe touch your heart, make you laugh and enjoy the unexpected romance that develops between the main characters. I was gifted a copy by the publishers through NetGalley, my review and opinion are voluntary.