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This Time Around–second chance romances
This Time Around
by Denise Hunter, Melissa Ferguson, and Kathleen Fuller
This Time Around is a collation of three second chance romances by three popular romance authors. I am posting my notes on each one. If you are interested in novella length romances to mix up your reading from some other genre, this would be the perfect book for you.
Denise Hunter has written a sweet second chance romance entitled A Summer Detour. Allie is free spirited and in her late twenties. She is painfully aware that her parents view her as irresponsible. Sadly, her boyfriend Luke ditched her right before the senior prom in her high school days, and the two have not connected since. When Allie makes a commitment to drive her grandparents’ 50th anniversary gift, a refurbished classic car to their party, she encounters a major hurdle and doesn’t know anyone to call on except Luke. It looks like a reconciliation could be in their future when a totally unpredicted hurdle throws everything off course. This is a short, enjoyable read with all the loose ends tied up nicely.
Told in the third person, Pining for You by Melissa Ferguson varies its focus from chapter to chapter between the two main characters, childhood friends Theo and Skye. When Theo went off to college, it was hard to maintain their blossoming romance. Fourteen years and a few misunderstandings later, can the successful financial advisor and established artist find their way back to each other?
In Kathleen Fuller’s He Loves Me; He Loves Me Not, Sophie Morgan at age 35 finally has her floral business well established and is ready to start dating. There are only two bachelors in Maple Falls. What are the chances they would both show up on her doorstep on the same afternoon inviting her on a date? Landon is a good looking lawyer, but seems a little slick. She has known Joe since Kindergarten, but has never really noticed those football coach biceps. Is it too late for Sophie to find love?
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance
Notes: Includes discussion questions
Publication: July 13, 2021—Thomas Nelson
Memorable Lines:
Who would choose to cocoon themselves into sleeping bags like saucy enchiladas for every Lyme-disease bearing tick, leg-amputating brown recluse, rattlesnake, mountain lion, bear, or serial killing maniac to discover? Someone needed to write that condition in the book of psychological disorders.
“I once left you unattended in Dad’s toolshed and came back to find you’d reorganized the whole thing alphabetically.” “So? I like organization. Everybody like organization.” “Yeah, well, we were six,” Skye replied.
The man deathly afraid of snakes had stepped into striking distance to save her. Was willing to put himself in front of his greatest fear in order to help her escape. It was touching. Absolutely crazy and ridiculous and paranoid, but also…touching.
Christmas Card Murder–three novellas
Christmas Card Murder
by Leslie Meier, Lee Hollis, and Peggy Ehrhart
The book Christmas Card Murder is a compilation of three novellas. The first one is also called Christmas Card Murder, and it’s written by Leslie Meier. It is an acceptable cozy mystery about a writer for a small town Maine newspaper who discovers a Christmas card with a hateful, mysterious message during a remodeling project. When a snowstorm brings more than snow, the main character Lucy finds herself in danger. With themes regarding the effectiveness of our criminal justice system, DNA evidence, and reasonable doubt, this mystery’s last few chapters have a very serious tone and the conclusion provides mixed outcomes for the characters. This story is more thought provoking than fun.
Death of a Christmas Carol
As I began the second novella, I sensed a theme. Also set in Maine, Death of a Christmas Carol’s plot is centered around a Christmas card. This card is addressed to three friends and includes a threat. The sender of the card is a flirtatious woman who has had conflicts with all the ladies. Is the card a joke or is someone’s husband unfaithful? Lee Hollis’ tale is about female bonding, marital happiness, and murder. Embedded are some short stories by the main character who is a writer for the local newspaper and some of her favorite seasonal recipes.
Death of a Christmas Card Crafter
Karma Karling was Penny’s favorite teacher in high school. A talented artist, she created a new card each Christmas season based on the “12 Days of Christmas.” Clearly the last in the series, this year’s card features 12 drummer boys—but there are thirteen depicted. Could that be a clue to Karma’s untimely death? Bettina and Pamela, both knitters, make it their business to discover the murderer while absolving a fellow knitter.
All of the novellas in this trio appear to be part of each author’s series. I enjoyed this novella the most—partly because, of the three, this is the only series that I have been following. I credit this one as having the best descriptive passages, the most interesting plot, and a surprise ending that was truly unexpected.
All of these novellas work as a stand-alone, but the author of Death of a Christmas Card Crafter excels in pulling the reader into the story while giving back information that makes the characters more appealing. Peggy Ehrhart’s book includes directions for knitting doll clothes using only the knit stitch and recipes for an intensely chocolate cake and a quick bread featuring dried fruits.
I would like to extend my thanks to NetGalley and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery
Publication: October 27, 2020—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
Christmas Card Murder—She knew that kids frequently didn’t realize that their actions had consequences; this was something most people learned the hard way.
Death of a Christmas Carol—“I got him to talk by threatening not to make him dinner. He’d make a terrible spy. He’d give up the nation’s secrets for a box of Hamburger Helper.”
Death of a Christmas Card Crafter—The spicy pine scent carried all the way to the sidewalk, and its evocation of a season that should be happy seemed an incongruous contradiction to the crime-scene tape and the uniformed officer.
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