When They Met Again - Leslie Gould

Adam Slaybaugh is instantly attracted to Joanna Grebel when they meet on the way to a wedding. But Joanna is wary of Adam's interest, and fears he is like her unpredictable and impulsive father. She doesn't believe in love at first sight, and as a reader of classic romances, she knows she wants her true love to be based on friendship first. When she meets Jacob though, her attraction to him is instant. But their relationship is turbulent and rocky. 

Then Adam returns to her home town... 

I really like Leslie Gould's writing. She creates a lovely environment for her characters. I loved the decades-long friendship circle of Becky, Lu, Elaine and Rhoda. I REALLY love the beautiful relationship between Becky and her husband Ike - not to mention the story of how they met! Joanna's connection with her grandmother Lu is very sweet and not at all in a saccharine way. 

I enjoyed reading about the developing friendship circle which Joanna is part of. 

I almost cheered for Rhoda when she stood up to her overbearing son's demands at last, and when she realised how much her granddaughter Joanna means to her. It was good too to see the character development of Joanna's distant Mamm.

I could've shaken Joanna a few times though. For someone so kind and perceptive, her reaction to the discovery about her letter-writer seems overly strong. As does her determination to continue to be 'miffed' about it. I honestly couldn't understand that AT ALL.

A good read, overall. I've docked it a star because the ending felt abrupt. I liked the last letter, and would have liked to have a bit more of a rounded conclusion. I felt a bit short-changed with just the final scene on the stairs.

I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

These Empty Places - Sarah Loudin Thomas

Claire Roth turned away from her first love to maintain a life of comfort and wealth. Although she loved her late husband and adores her daughter she sometimes wonders what the lost 'treasure' her first love left for her actually is. 

Lena Hawkins, on the other hand, marries the man who sweeps her off of her feet. She was a socialite from a wealthy family. He was from a poor background, but has done well speculating on the stock market. Then came the financial crash. Lena and Preston are penniless and living in a hovel before Preston manages to find work and housing thanks to his brother. Things start, very slowly, to look up for the Hawkins, and when they find an abandoned home to live in, Lena starts to enjoy making it 'hers'. But Preston's constant determination to be 'on top of the top' at all costs no matter how he gets there has devastating results...

This is a clever look at what real treasure looks like, as well as having lots to say in mostly quiet ways about both friendship and love. Lena ends up working for Claire, a lady who would have been her peer rather than her employer in her previous life, before her marriage estranged her from her wealthy parents. Their working relationship doesn't take long to move to friendship, and conversations about life and love. 'Love isn't always easy, is it?' says Lena. 'Almost never,' Claire agrees. 'Not if you're doing it right.'

And love certainly isn't easy for Lena. The up-and-coming, charismatic man she married isn't the man she deals with when their fortunes are low. He is unpredictable and sometimes hostile. Even in the pages of a book, he sometimes scared me and often infuriated me. He is proud in a dangerous way. He dislikes Lena working, even though they desperately need her wage, and he doesn't like her finding a friend as well as an employer in Claire. He is constantly focussed on getting to the top and being rich and routinely expects that Lena will meekly do what he expects of her when he has 'made it'. He rarely actually listens to what Lena says, or takes the time to see what her heart really wants. When he is finally making more money and is able to move them to a smarter home, he still disregards Lena’s own hopes and dreams and assumes what she wants rather than actually asking her.

Claire says of her late husband George: 'Love, she'd realised, was a choice to be made' and she made it (Claire’s story - told in the book - is lovely), but it is clear again and again that it is a choice which Lena has to make too, and it is not easy. I liked the fact that she did not just run into Preston's arms again, even when I was irritated that he expected her to! That said, Lena doesn't always make the best choices herself and she spends a lot of time crying and being angry. I totally understand why she would rightly be angry, and I would probably also cry! But there do seem to be quite a few scenes where she is 'sobbing'.

Getting past my dislike of Preston (which is counterbalanced somewhat by my liking for John Bellamy and his quiet wisdom) took a long time, and it was lucky that there are so many other much more likeable characters in the book! The setting is also very beautifully described. And I liked the way all the various threads were tied up, although I personally felt the epilogue was surplus to requirements and felt awkward, unnecessary and a bit sad. 

This is up there with the author’s earlier richly told historical novels. She  has a gift for creating multilevel stories around lesser-known historical events, in this case the loss of Lake Toxaway due to the failure of the earth dam in 1916 and the impact on the resort and local people. It’s a great book club option on what real treasure is, with an excellent set of reading group questions at the end.

I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

The Winter Killer - Alex Pine

This is the second DI James Walker book which I was lent by a friend, and once again I found myself immersed in a chilly winter murder mystery in Cumbria. 

The author is adept at creating a complex cast of very different characters and making sure the reader has to concentrate to keep up! I like the DI, and the little bits of detail about his family. It makes a truly refreshing change to have a lead character whose home life is happy and doesn't dominate the story, and who doesn't have some awful trauma going on in his past or present. Thank you, thank you, Alex Pine!

I also like James' sidekick DC Jessica Abbott, and it's she who has the unfortunate experience in the opening chapter of being a guest at a wedding when Rachel, the maid of honour, disappears and is later found dead.

There are plenty of potential suspects, not least Rachel's mysterious Italian boyfriend, a previous ex who's sure Rachel deliberately ruined his political ambitions, and the unpleasant best friend of the groom. I'm pleased to report however that there are quite a few quiet twists in this story.

An excellent read for those who enjoy a well-told, well-plotted and page-turning mystery. I've just bought two more of the books in the series! 

PS: As a footnote, it may be obvious that I've not read this series in order, but this hasn't spoiled my enjoyment of the stories in any way. Both of the novels I've so far read have been fully self-contained and haven't relied on previous books plot points within their own stories.

A Chance for Kallie Mae - Ann H. Gabhart

Kallie Mae Bertram fell in love with neighbouring Quinn Spencer when they were both children who became friends despite their families hostile feud. As youngsters they both had hopes and dreams which for Kallie included learning to read. But then her little sister Laurel died of a fever and her mother dies giving birth to Kallie's youngest sister Emmie. Kallie's father forbids her from seeing Quinn, and she must suddenly step into the role of mother to Emmie, and pretty much to her younger brother Whitt too. Her dreams are shattered. 

Six years later, searching for Emmie in the local woods, she meets Quinn again, and all those childhood feelings reawaken and intensify. And then, the new local schoolteacher announces that she is starting a 'moonlight school' for adults, held at night. Kallie can learn to read after all! Perhaps her other dreams can come to fruition too, she hopes, until her father announces he'd rather see her dead than married to a Spencer. 

I enjoyed this mountain story from Ann H. Gabhart very much. The setting of the Appalachian Mountains is immersively described, as are the people who live there. Kallie and Quinn's love story is beautifully developed and believably written, and little Emmie is a wonderful character full of energy and joy. Both of which are challenged by the birthmark she carries on her face and the family feud which impacts her friendships. We are reminded to be careful about what we say when Emmie overhears careless comments about her birth causing her mother's death. Comments which she takes to heart, believing it was her fault her mother died. 

Of all the characters in the story, I think I love Emmie the most. She deals with her own hopes, fears and disappointments in a way (mostly) mature for her years, and stands up for her sister and brother as well as she is able. She loves simply and transparently. At the other end of the age spectrum is the equally wonderful Aunt Sudie. Single and strongly independent, she yet provides an almost mother-figure to Kallie and her wisdom is respected. The ebbs and flow of this story are engaging, and the resolution(s!) is dramatic and absolutely feels true. 

Another excellent, sensitive, and inspiring novel from an author who maintains her place on my 'must-read authors' list.

I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

Almost by Design - Jenny Erlingsson

Kenya Stewart messes up her diary and misses a crucially important meeting, putting her work promotion in serious jeapardy. And shortly afterwards she has an accident which puts her in the emergency room, and out of her office for some time.

Solomon Anruchi is training to be a physical therapist, but his parents see this as a 'phase' before he commits to the family business. Thinking that having a girlfriend will ease his family's pressure on him, Solomon suggests to Kenya that they fake a relationship. And this is where things hit the first snag, for me. At this point, I cannot see ANY reason why Kenya would even entertain the idea. It's not until later on that she discovers that Solomon's family have links which could help her in her business aspirations. Anyway, they begin their 'relationship', which is very quickly trickier than planned because Solomon, who previously ghosted Kenya after a single 'real' date (see earlier comment ref not understanding why she would think fake dating a good idea) has strong feelings for her and she for him. But because neither of them talk, life gets messy pretty quickly. 

I found this hard going often. It didn't help that I disliked Solomon's family pretty much from the off, especially his parents. I also find Kenya, in her 30s, still referring to her father as 'Daddy' a bit odd (though this story is set in the southern US where I gather it's more common useage), and I strongly dislike people who excuse outright rudeness by casually saying 'she knows that's how I roll', never mind those who ask a very newly married couple when they will have babies. A question which to my mind is no-one else's business at any point, ever.

That said, it's a well-written story. The library scene is especially well-done, entertaining and clever, although I can't understand why Kenya didn't tell Solomon about her dyslexia afterwards. She's clearly a woman who has achieved a lot, and doing it with dyslexia is even more impressive, given her career. She could easily have told him, but then we wouldn't have had the dramatic wedding situation! On the other hand, Solomon not saying a BIT more about the substance of his family's business is also nuts, considering his worries when Kenya goes to meet his mother. And it would have avoided the entirely unnecessarily awkward - and slightly offensive - conversation they had as a result.

But the bottom line is that I didn't really find myself cheering for any of the characters. Reading, especially fiction, is very subjective, so I'm sure others will really enjoy this one. I could be accused of reading with a cultural bias, but I read lots of novels which are set in different cultures to mine and I enjoy most of them. I actually really enjoyed the author's previous book in this series, Her Part to Play, so I am hoping that for me this is a blip in the series, and I'll certainly still be reading the next.

I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.

Scent of Hope - Susan May Warren

PI Harley Tatum has come back to Copper Mountain, the place she swore she'd never return to, chasing the drug dealer responsible for so much of her past trauma. It's already a lot to deal with - and then she finds out that the search dog handler she's been called in to work with is none other than Jericho Bowie. The man she'd loved her entire life, until everything messily unravelled seven years before. Harley hopes that things can be wrapped up in a day or so, and she can return to her life in Juneau. But things go south quickly when she's shot by the fugitive she's hunting....

This is a book packed with action and energy. It's a lot more than simply working out Harley and Jericho's relationship. Actually, I did find their early angst rather hard work at times, but there was more than enough intrigue to keep me turning the pages. And there is an excellent and MASSIVE plot twist which I never saw coming!

There's a strong thread of 'new starts' throughout. Jericho and Harley (individually as well as a couple), Gabe - in more ways than one, Even Orlando, the Bernese-cross search dog with PTSD. 

This is a Christian suspense novel with a strong Christian element, especially later in the book. When this is first introduced I found it slightly jarring, but afterwards the Christian elements were well woven into the storyline and felt true to the characters.

A book which is well worth persevering with, with interesting characters and a completely compelling family dynamic. I like the way that characters from other books and series by this author are mentioned here and there in a way which her regular readers will appreciate but which won't seem odd or awkward to someone coming new to this book. I certainly hope that the next book in the Call of the Wild series will include some good news for Kennedy and Sully. Although while mentioning them, I do like the fact that Susan May Warren is an author who shows characters in her suspense novels who are working through hard things in life which cannot be mended by 'catching the bad guy'.

NOTE: I read a pre-publication version supplied by the publisher. No review was required. All comments and opinions above are entirely my own.