Month: September 2018

Book Review: Mistletoe Miracles by Jodi Thomas

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MISTLETOE MIRACLES (A Ransom Canyon Romance #7) by Jodi Thomas is a heartwarming addition to this series and is perfect for putting you in the Christmas romance spirit.

In this book, there are three stories intertwined. All set in the small Texas town of Crossroads. Each has a hero and heroine that have given up on love, been broken by people who supposedly loved them, or never believed in the possibility of love for themselves in the first place.

Griffin’s Problem has Griffin Holloway desperate for cash to save his ranch that has been in his family for generations. He would rather cut off a limb than sell even a small portion of his land. The solution he and his brothers come up with; he must marry a wealthy bride before the end of the year. These bachelors have no idea how to go about their plan, so they seek the help of a pair of elderly sisters in town who run a boarding house. The sisters find a bride for Griffin, but the bride has conditions.

Midnight Crossing has Jaxon O’Grady, former firefighter, living like a hermit on his family’s isolated piece of land. When he witnesses a car crash off the nearby isolated road, emergency personnel rescue the woman, but Jaxon finds and saves her injured dog. After realizing the danger this mystery woman is in, Jaxon takes her in as well to his isolated cabin and he begins to realize he is needed.

The Johnsons has Jamie Johnson finally settled in her dream lakeside home and happily teaching. To avoid nosy neighbors and unwanted male attention, she has invented a husband away in the service. When she returns from a weekend school trip, she is shocked to find a man asleep on her sofa. The town believes Mr. Johnson has returned. Now what is Jamie going to do?

This is such a wonderful read! Ms. Thomas has taken interesting individual characters and put them in unusual situations and we get to enjoy watching how they come together. I wanted every hero and heroine to get their HEA and the Christmas setting makes it even more magical. Well written with believable, broken characters who are perfect for each other. All sex scenes are behind closed doors. This is a book that I just did not want to end and I highly recommend.

Written for and posted first on The Romance Reviews.

Book Review: Night Music: A Novel by Deanna Lynn Sletten

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

NIGHT MUSIC: A NOVEL by Deanna Lynn Sletten is a beautifully written genre story that is a cross between a sweet romance and women’s fiction. The time period is 1968 to 1971 and the setting a small college town in Illinois. Ms. Sletten takes you back to the social and cultural turmoil of the Vietnam War. A soldier’s return to build the life he has only dreamed of in the jungles of Vietnam, a charismatic student anti-war leader and a girl finding herself, loved by both.

Charlotte Parsons lost her older brother after only three months in Vietnam. Her family is devastated, but proud of his service. Charlotte wants to know more about this war that took her brother, so she lies about her age and joins a group that writes letters to soldiers overseas. She corresponds with a soldier named Joseph Russo.  Char tells Joe all about the small town life she loves and Joe shelters Char from the horrors of the war that took her brother. After only a few months, the letters stop. Char does not know why they stop, but she moves on with her high school life.

Two years later, Char begins college. Char is dating Deke Masterson, her brother’s best friend from high school. Deke is the leader of the anti-war movement on their college campus. He is dedicated to the cause and wants Char to participate. Char hates that she lost her brother, but she does not really have her own opinions on the war. He father fought in WWII and her parents believe their son died doing his duty, while Deke preaches that all the men fighting in Vietnam are baby killers and killing innocent villagers.

Joe has come home wounded. He will have a life-long limp, but he feels blessed to be home alive. He moves to Grand Falls to put the war behind him and go to college in the small town of his letters from Char. He cannot believe his luck to meet her in person. She is as sweet and beautiful as her letters. He befriends Char and her parents. As Deke becomes more radical, and Joe shows Char only respect, kindness and understanding, Char has a choice to make.

I so loved this book and will remember the characters long into the future. I was a preteen in the time period of this book and can understand and identify with all the characters. My family is full of veterans and we were taught to always respect their service, but I was also watching the horrors of the war nightly on the news and heard of the atrocities. Ms. Sletten’s book captures all sides of the conflict with believable characters. I also loved the character development of Charlotte, growing from a sheltered high school girl to a college coed who learns to think for herself and realize all the shades of grey in the world. This is a sweet romance with no sex scenes on the page.

I will always be listening for night music.