This book was another surprising read of the year. I was really amazed at how into the book I got and found it to be an intense all night page turner. I don’t watch Fox News so I honestly didn’t know who Lis Wiehl was when picking up this book. Other than the Bill O’Reilly endorsement on the front, I had no idea this was a book by a newscaster. It all makes sense now though because this is a story that could be ripped straight from the headlines. It was really interesting to see the story from three different angles – the lawyer, the investigator and the reporter. What I found unique is that usually the reporter tends to have problems with everyone else because their first thoughts are to promote themselves with the story. In this book, however, the reporter allows the clues to come to her and doesn’t go out hunting for them. This could be due to the fact that she respects her friends and their feelings even though she is trying to climb the career ladder as well. I really enjoyed reading the mystery about what happened to Katie and I felt the suspense building up throughout the entire book.

Katie’s blog entries were well written and did sound convincingly like an actual teen would have written then. Although I’m not too sure that she would have used a MySpace page to blog her thoughts, as I think by now most teens have moved onto Facebook. It was a little difficult reading the entries at first because the story went from third person to first person abruptly but this qualm was erased after you got used to it. The ending was one I didn’t see coming and it also raised questions about spousal abuse from a different perspective. I felt the book was extremely well written and it gave an insider’s look to what goes on during a crime investigation. The women are likable and I’m eager to read more about them in future books. The story is not preachy, faith is a topic brought up, but it is not in your face. This was a great thriller and a must read suspense book. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the Triple Threat series.

This is probably one of my surprising reads of the year. I had been a bit wary of this book because it was an unfamiliar author and I’m usually not a big fan of books that take place in Eastern European countries. However as soon as I started reading the book, I was hooked in completely. Alex is a character that I absolutely adored from the beginning. She’s the type of heroine that you want to be, and that you like very much. She’s strong, yet you can see her weaknesses. I really enjoyed all the historical facts that were presented in this book. As a historian, I appreciated how the author used real history and didn’t create events to make the story better. It’s interesting how real life events can be just as interesting (or even better) in comparison to fictional tales. Some readers might find these bits boring, as the history of Ukraine and the former Soviet Union are told in details but they are relevant to the plot of the story and shouldn’t really be skimmed over. The story is extremely well researched and I actually felt like I had traveled to Europe along with Alex. With so much going on in the book, one would think the storyline would be hard to follow. However it’s not and it makes for a very fast paced read. One other thing I really liked is that even though the author is male and writes as a first person female, Alex acts like a rational woman and does not fall into cliched stereotypes. I personally enjoyed the downplay of romance in this book.

There is quite a bit of violence in this book. The story is very action packed and many characters do die. In fact, it seemed that there was someone that died in almost every chapter. Characters also do drink socially throughout the story. This book felt very realistic in the way situations were handled. Events that take place in this book could pretty much be ripped from headline news. To be honest, I don’t consider this book Christian fiction at all. It may be by published by a Christian publisher, but the story doesn’t really project anything preachy. Alex does grow stronger in her faith but it is not a main focus point. In fact I would just consider this book to be a good international suspense thriller. By far and away this was one of the best suspense books I’ve read all year. Tight storyline, thrilling action sequences, an engaging heroine and a page turning read make this one of my favorite reads of the year. VERY HIGHLY recommended.

This book really surprised me. I was expecting one thing and then got blown away by another. The characters in this book really get to your heart. I really liked Indigo and her strong character. It was really nice to see her grown up from the previous book and wanting to follow her dreams as a photographer. Many different things happen to her in this book, challenging her strength and emotions. She acted much better than I would, had I been in her situation. Along with Indigo, I was also curious as to why Brian wanted to get married so fast and seemed to ignore Indigo’s desire to go to graduate school. My first impression was that he was being chauvinist and old fashioned. I was afraid that Indigo would fall into the same rut that many females in Christian fiction seem to take when they give up their career plans to become a stay at home wife. Therefore it was a huge surprise to find out the real reason for the plans for a quickie wedding. What’s funny is that I never expecting Bryan to admit what he had done in the past. I’ve always thought how it would be interesting if that subject matter was brought up in a Christian fiction book but figured it was too edgy. Therefore it was with great surprise that not only was it brought up, it was a major storyline AND did not involve a neat and tidy ending. Another small but interesting issue that was brought up was interracial dating. It’s not as a big of a plot, but it does break barriers in Christian fiction by the fact it was even brought up at all.

This series has totally just blown me away by bringing up topics most authors would avoid to fend off controversy. Stacy Adams has now captured my full attention and I’ve become a new fan. I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in this series. HIGHLY recommended.

This book brings a different take on the Regency era. Instead on focusing on the upper class with their balls and frolicking due to massive free time, this story turns instead to the working class. It’s a very interesting approach as the reader gets to see first hand what life was like for the normal people of the time period who had to work in order to survive in the world. The details of the life of an apothecary were fascinating and incredibly in depth. A lot of research went into explaining the daily operations of an apothecary and the wonders that went behind creating the medicines. To me, the apothecary was like a potions master, creating different solutions to solve life’s ailments. Also as women were not allowed to be a part of the medical field, this was really interesting to see Lilly be so knowledgeable of the subject. It is a shame that due to her sex, she would not be able to go beyond life in the store even though she would have been more qualified than most male doctors. The romance in this story is very Jane Austen-ish. I found myself rooting for both men as I liked them both and couldn’t decide which one Lilly should end up with.

There are times when the plot seems a little slow and seems to be going around in circles. Also to be honest, I felt rather disappointed in the storyline of Lilly’s mother. I felt like the plot built up so much throughout the course of the entire book, only to end rather abruptly and rather flat. It was almost as if it was an afterthought to suddenly bring that storyline to a close. It also was starting to get a little soap opera-ish by this point when you brought in her father’s story as well. I would have liked a better ending with that actually. Other than this, I truly enjoyed this story. Klassen has written another wonderful historical novel that’s rich in details and comes alive from the pages. I am looking forward to whenever her next novel comes out as I am sure I will not be disappointed.

Every time Tracie Peterson announces she has a new book coming out, I immediately go and put it on my wish list. She is one of those authors whom I have read every book and is pretty much a standard in Christian fiction. Everything I always like about Tracie’s books is included in this one as well. From the detailed historical research to wonderful character development to that comfort feeling you get while reading her books, it’s all here. The sisters run a boarding house/restaurant/coach stop that is very similar to the Fred Harvey system used out west. It’s a very well run operation and the women are highly respected in town which is unusual for the time period. I liked all three sisters and found them very similar to the way my own family acts. I found the laudanum scene very funny although I can’t believe that it didn’t enter any one’s head that it might have been dangerous! The situation between Harvey and Gwen’s late husband was really interesting and I kept going back on forth on whether I believed him or not. Although I felt that a lot of that drama could have been avoided if he had just told her that one thing she had been looking for.

My only qualm with this book was that the storyline seemed a little slow at times. It wasn’t that it was boring. I just felt that certain scenes tended to drag at times, and there was a lot of dialogue that could have been taken out. Also Hank and Gwen, while they had good chemistry, just seemed to magically fall in together. It was like banter one minute, lovey-dovey the next. I would have liked some more development than the cliched falling in love with a stranger story. Overall though, I greatly enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the other Gallatin sisters’ adventures. It’s a fun read that will take you back to the romantic West.

After reading this book, Kansas definitely isn’t just Dorothy’s home anymore! Deborah Vogts has written a lovely first novel about a determined veterinarian, a grizzled old man, and a football star at the end of his prime. The three characters are thrown together after a series of mishaps that happen out on the farm. All three have decidedly different personalities so when they’re all together, they seem to clash horribly at first. Gil got on my nerves in the beginning of the book. I know that he’s been out of the area for a bit and that he’s not on good terms with his father. Plus he’s been a big shot NFL player and is now back in small town America. It just rankled me how as soon as he gets back he just seems to want to take things over and then gets highly suspicious of Mattie. The kicker is that he just assumes she’s having a relationship with his father and is out to get the property simply because he sees her making cookies for his father and treating him with kindness. His dad mellows out throughout the story and you can see that his one soft spot is for Mattie. The doc is a caring woman who loves animals very much. It’s heartbreaking to read about animals in hurt conditions but she is the type of person who doeseverything in her power to fix them up or at least try to take away their pain as best she can. I really appreciated the realistic situations on the farm, theinvolvement of the animals and even the NFL scenes. They didn’t seem fake or written by someone who doesn’t really know how football is played. It’s a minor plot in the book but just the little details really make it stand out more and were greatly appreciated.

While I enjoyed this book, for me it felt though like there wasn’t anything new explored in the book. I just didn’t see anything out of the ordinary in the story that hasn’t already been done in other novels. It was just for me, a very safe book that can be seen as a comfort read. There’s nothing wrong with that and if you enjoy a sweet contemporary romance and especially with animals this is the perfect book for you. I will be looking forward to reading the next books in the series.

If you’re looking for a quick book that gives you just the right about of romantic suspense to get you through the day, look no further. In Liz Johnson’s debut novel, she skillfully blends tense adventure scenes with sparkling chemistry. This book gives a great insight to both the world of politics as well as the undercover life of an FBI agent. We see what it’s like to be the victim of a kidnapping plot as well as what really goes on with politician’s families. The storyline is fast paced yet still manages to develop the relationship between Kenzie and Miles. Their interactions with each other are believable and you can see how they begin to fall for each other.

The only qualm I had with this book was Kenzie seemly being so naive. I suppose she could have been raised in an extremely sheltered childhood but some of the statements she would make seemed a little too unbelievable . I found it very hard to believe that someone who teaches in a prison doesn’t seem to have much of a backbone. The one line that kills me is when Kenzie tells Miles, after discovering his true identity, that she can’t believe that he has at least a GED because earlier he had told her he didn’t have one. However other than that, this was a fantastic romantic suspense novel. It’s fast paced and keeps you guessing throughout the book. I didn’t know who the culprit was until near the end and even then it was rather a surprise. This is a fantastic debut by Liz Johnson and I’m looking forward to reading more from her in the future.

It’s time to go back to the beach house with a new set of characters. This time it’s a mother-daughter story with summer romances, past secrets and self discovery along the way. The story had many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. There were times when I thought I knew what was going to happen and was delighted to see that the story didn’t go in that direction. Serious topics such as eating disorders and kleptomania are discussed but handled in a way that doesn’t detract from the beachy atmosphere. I could practically picture it when Sonny enters the house for the first time and sees the beach house in it’s delightfully tacky glory. Family issues are the central plot of this storyline. This ranges from Sonny and her mother’s relationship to her mother and aunt’s relationship and even to Irina dealing with her birth family.

I was a little sad not to see any of the characters from Trish’s previous novels pop up in this book. I’ve just gotten used to seeing Kara, Ren, Jeremy and Tiffany all the time and I missed seeing a familiar face. This book is also more romance than the previous books and had less of a chick lit feel. If I had to label it, this would be a contemporary romance book. If there was anything I had a real problem with in this book, it was the use of the extremely short chapters. There would be chapters that were only a page and a half. While this may not be a problem to others, to me it just made the flow of the story keep halting. Some chapters would consist only of a character’s single action or though and didn’t really help to keep the story moving along. It felt slightly disjointed to me while reading. This however was a minor qualm.

Reading this book made me feel like I was at the beach house myself. I could hear the waves crashing, feel the sun’s warmth on me, and just wanted to kick back and relax on the sand and get a tan. This book is perfect for a day at the beach or if you can’t make it there yourself, it’s the next best thing for a getaway.

This book made me both laugh and ponder at what the average person thinks it takes to become a Christian. I really liked how this book outed all the typical stereotypes of Christianity. All the material symbols that supposedly show how Christian one can be were portrayed in this book. From the fish symbol, to the cross jewelry, to the taped on bumper stickers, Maizy went all out to show others how Christian she was by the way she looked. I chuckled at her attempts to try to fake being a Christian, especially by the things she would say. At the same time though, it made me think about all the people out there who do act in this way. Are their feelings sincere or is it just a show? I would love to get a job working at Steeple Side. It sounds like a really great company to work for and I really enjoyed how it showed that Christians can have fun and be normal too. I really appreciated the scene when Maizy confronts her grandmother and her attitude towards Maizy’s mother. Not that I enjoy it when elderly folks get told off, but it was one of those situations where the person is wrong is set right and in a forceful manner. I think that there are a bunch of people who actually do need to read parts of The Dumb Blonde Guide’s to Christianity for refresher tips!

While I enjoyed the book, this was probably the least chick lit-ish out of Tamara’s recent books. There just seemed to be more romance in this book. I also felt the storyline to be a bit predictable as I knew what was going to happen about halfway through the story. It didn’t bother me because I was having fun reading Maizy’s story but nevertheless I figured about the plot rather quickly. So while this book was a great read, Splitting Harriet is still probably my favorite of her books. However this was a great book to read and I highly recommend it. It’s a really good book to quell all the rumors of Christian stereotypes and hopefully put them to rest one day.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author and I will admit I was highly impressed with it. I liked Raleigh’s character very much. She’s very no nonsense and is a strong female lead. I really liked her name as it’s unique and Southern. Her character is not very feminine, there were times when I honestly forgot she was female. Since it was in first person, the reader sees things the way Raleigh does and she doesn’t really give off any hints that give away her femininity. There’s not really any romantic subplots in this book, which was fine by me. I was glad the mystery was main plot of the book. The suspense build up was done very well, and the storyline felt like it was a good plot for a TV show. I also liked how Raleigh used her geology expertise to help solve the mystery. It’s very nice to see a detective be smart and resourceful and not fall into the trap of being stereotyped.

If there was any qualms in the book, I would have to say it is the ending. To me, it felt like it happened rather abruptly and out of the blue. All of a sudden everything was explained and all loose ends tied up without warning. It felt like sort of a let down to just have it end the way it did. I wasn’t expecting that ending but at the same time it felt like a predictable bit to explain things. Other than that, I did enjoy reading this book. Even though it’s Christian fiction, it’s not preachy at all. The characters do attend church, but it’s not in your face and it’s actually almost an afterthought in the book. Overall the story has strong characters and an interesting plot that makes for a very good read. I am looking forward to going back and reading Giorello’s previous book which featured Raleigh and also to any future books by her.