Evergreen Springs by RaeAnne Thayne--A Review

SYNOPSIS:

Celebrate the magic of Christmas in Haven Point with New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne, where hope, home, and happily-ever-after are as close as your holiday stocking...

Christmas is the last thing Cole Barrett is thinking about this year. He's barely hanging on trying to care for his two grieving children since his ex-wife died in a tragic accident. For the reclusive Cole, this is no time for gift-giving and celebration—and certainly not for a sunny-natured optimist to blow into his screwed-up life.

In the years since her cancer treatments, physician Devin Shaw has researched the curative powers of Lake Haven's mineral waters. Unfortunately, the hot springs are on Barrett property, forcing Devin to strike a bargain with the ranch's attractively gruff owner: she'll give Cole's children the magical Christmas they deserve, and Cole will allow her patients access to the springs. But can she work her holiday magic to heal the Barrett family's battered hearts—and her own?

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE:  

Evergreen Springs by RaeAnne Thayne was a magical Christmas read.   Both main characters, Cole Barrett and Devin Shaw, have their share of painful history and some of which they have no desire to share.    But Devin is resourceful and chooses to see the best in others...her neighbors, her patients, the sexy brother of her  pregnant patient Trisha.   She sees the best in the behavior's of Cole's children, shy Ty and aggressive little Jasmine.  

The setting is clearly Christmas in the beautiful mountains....the conflict finding love and being denied because someone doesn't feel good enough for the fair doctor.   It's an enjoyable read, lots of hope and the magic of Christmas and it is wonderfully clean romance at its best.

I rated this Christmas read 5 Winks!

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.    I purchased this book for my own personal collection.

Maybe Not by Colleen Hoover--my review

   I wanted to follow up Maybe Someday with the story of Maybe Not, but I didn't necessarily read these one after the other.     This is a shorter story, (130 pgs) telling of Ridge and Sydney's roomies, Warren and Bridgette and how they related to each other.

SYNOPSIS:

Colleen Hoover, the New York Times bestselling author of Maybe Someday brilliantly brings to life the story of the wonderfully hilarious and charismatic Warren in a new novella, Maybe Not.

When Warren has the opportunity to live with a female roommate, he instantly agrees. It could be an exciting change.

Or maybe not.

Especially when that roommate is the cold and seemingly calculating Bridgette. Tensions run high and tempers flare as the two can hardly stand to be in the same room together. But Warren has a theory about Bridgette: anyone who can hate with that much passion should also have the capability to love with that much passion. And he wants to be the one to test this theory.

Will Bridgette find it in herself to warm her heart to Warren and finally learn to love?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION:

Maybe Not was a follow up novella of 130 pages.   Warren had been best buddies with Ridge since they were teens and he had both a warped humor and perspective which made him the most lovable character of the foursome.
Maybe Not was comical and sad and sexually explicit.   For all of the quirkiness of the two main characters, Warren and Bridgette, his seeming understanding of her emotional state is so right on and their relationship becomes so hot, I thought my kindle might melt. 

Hoover is one of the best at weaving a tale that surprises and delights.

I rated this 5 wink read....you just can't put her work down.

Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover---A Review

Sometimes Readers, there comes a quirky author who just steals the breath right out of your body with her passionate words and quirky themes.   That is how I see and read Colleen Hoover's work.  How does she come up with these unique and intriguing tales?   If I could write a book, I would want to write like her....but my well is dry so she has nothing to fear from me.   LOL


SYNOPSIS:

At twenty-two years old, Sydney is enjoying a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her best friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers that Hunter is cheating on her—and she’s forced to decide what her next move should be.

Soon, Sydney finds herself captivated by her mysterious and attractive neighbor, Ridge. She can't take her eyes off him or stop listening to the passionate way he plays his guitar every evening out on his balcony. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either. They soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one.

A passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance, Maybe Someday will immerse readers in Sydney’s tumultuous world from the very first page.

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION:

Colleen Hoover has got to be one of the quirkiest and yet unique authors on our planet.   Her writing is very straight forward and she develops full bodied characters who are well rounded and entirely too likeable or dislikeable as the shoe fits.   But she generally writes about what you would never expect to be reading.    There is always a twist you don't see coming and it is always something titillating.

Maybe Someday is a lengthy -meaty read and I was thoroughly engrossed with the story and the resolution.    This is a young adult romance read and therefore holds some explicit love scenes, but overall, it is a wonderful story, told as only Colleen Hoover can.    I would love to share a secret about Ridge, but you will find out for yourself if you place a copy of Maybe Someday in your hot little hands and in front of your baby blues.    Enjoy!!   It's worth the read!

I rated this a 5 wink read.

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.    I purchased this book for my own personal collection.

Blind Justice by Ethan Cross--a review

I am sooooo far behind in posting reviews.   I've enjoyed my reading to the exclusion of reviewing, but I must change my evil ways


SYNOPSIS:

Deacon Munroe is not your average investigator. He’s intelligent, cultured, well-connected.

And totally blind.

Washington DC is Munroe’s city. Now it’s a city shaken to the core by the death of a high-ranking general and his wife. All the evidence suggests that the general killed his wife before taking his own life. Deacon Munroe does not trust what other people see – only what he knows is true.

What Munroe soon knows is that the general's death is part of a far greater plan, a sophisticated and brutal plot to kill thousands of innocent people, including those closest to Munroe himself.

But with only a small team at his aid, and just hours to stop a devastating attack on the city, can Munroe unearth the truth in time to bring justice to the city? 

FROM MY MIND'S EYE:

Ethan Cross is one of my favorite mystery/suspense authors and I thoroughly enjoyed his novel Blind Justice.    Hopefully it will not be the last we see of his star investigator, Deacon Monroe.

Deacon Monroe is smart, determined, and doesn't give in to threats.   He is also blind and depends more on what he knows to be true than what most folks 'see'.

Cross has developed some strong characters to assist Deacon as he journeys through life and crime.   His assistant, Annabelle,  an ex-con/marine named Black and countless antagonists who can't get one up on the blind investigator.

The story is fast paced and moves from one murder to the next with personal loss to our hero as well as common sense deductive reasoning.   Although I found it a bit challenging to believe in the expertise of this blind investigator, I found Cross'es writing to be plausible overall and very entertaining.

Well done Ethan Cross!

I rated this a four wink read!

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.  I received a copy of this book from the author or their representative in exchange for an honest review.

March Reading Recap

March was a great month to satisfy my desire for romance reads, with four really good reads.   I loved them all.

















Angela Ford's Still was a short story/murder mystery that incorporated many twists and turns--quite interesting.

And then I read a cozy Christian mystery from Guideposts--Shadows of the Past by Emily Thomas.  These reads are entertaining but not too challenging...enjoyable.

Ethan Cross's Blind Justice was probably the meatiest read of my month.   This novel features a blind investigator whose friendsa and family are threatened by his delving into criminal/terrorist activities.....Very suspenseful with lots of twists and turns.

Last but not least,  Bette Lee Crosby's  The Loft made it into my reading list.    However I failed to read Memory House first as it was the first in the Memory House series.    Dang, I hate when that happens, but I am currently reading Memory House.    Bette Lee  writes what I call Women's Fiction and always leaves the reader stimulated and reflecting on the written word.    Love her writing!

Well that wraps up March and the reading I did.    I hope you had as an enjoyable Month with words and pages as I.     Keep those big eyes reading and so will I.

Hugs

Miss Beth

Could This Be Love by Kathy Ivan--a review

SYNOPSIS:

Injured during the last game of the season, Jesse Turner won't admit to anybody he's afraid his career is over. After surgery and months of grueling physical therapy, he's anticipating and dreading the opening of training camp. Football has been the one constant he could depend on, and the only thing keeping his mind off his traitorous ex-wife.

After earning her Master's degree in education, Emma Worthington relocated to Dallas to teach and leave behind painful memories. What were the odds that out of six and a half million people, she'd run into her ex-husband? Wed too young, their marriage ended in an annulment before the ink had a chance to dry on the license, and they haven't spoken to each other since.

When they reconnect, a tenuous friendship grows, but that old black magic won't be denied and their feelings begin to resurface. When the lies from the past that drove them apart are finally exposed, can they find forgiveness or is it too late for a second chance at love?

FROM MY PERSPECTIVE:

Deep sigh...I love romance stories. Kathy Ivan has a knack for writing some really heartwarming romance tales and I am becoming a fan of hers.    She does write some pretty explicit sexual scenes, so I recommend her work for those 18 and over.   

Both Jesse and Emma were very well developed characters, with dreams, aspirations, buried love, and hurts.    Each had walked away from a life together 8 years previously and had never found anything to come close to what they had had together.

Each wanted answers as to why they weren't enough to satisfy the other.   Why their brand new marriage was forced to fail?   When after eight years they meet once again by accident, the  fire and the spark of their magnetism is still alive and well.  

To me, this was a story of endurance and forgiveness.   I enjoyed it tremendously, although I found the conflict between father and daughter somewhat weak and not as realistic as it could have been.

Overall, I rated this a 4 wink read and truly enjoyed the read.

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.  I received a copy of this book from the author or their representative in exchange for an honest review.

Still by Angela Ford---A Review

SYNOPSIS:

The unsolved murder in the park of Brianna's sister becomes personal. Homicide has no leads but Brianna does. Signed into the same chat group her sister used, she lures the killer her way. What she discovers will change her life forever...


FROM MY PERSPECTIVE:

At only 23 pages, STILL is a short story.    It's a suspenseful mystery as the heroine, Brianna,  seeks to find her sister's killer.   She has been ordered away from her job as constable in order to have time to grieve, but she has other plans.    She knows no fear when seeking her objective and she recruits the help of a handsome guy she met in college.   It's a good story, entertaining,but it is also short.   Characters are very well developed and interesting.    There's also a twist, I sure didn't see coming.

I rated this a three wink read.

Disclaimer:  I read for my pleasure.   I may receive ARC copies for review purposes, but I am not compensated for my reviews .  I like to read and I like to share my reviews.   I post my thoughts without prejudice or bias.  The words are mine and I write reviews based on my humble opinion.  I will admit, I seldom meet a book I don't like.  I received a copy of this book from the author or their representative in exchange for an honest review.