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Her Only Wish–composing a life list
Her Only Wish
by Shelley Shepard Gray
While the first book in this clean, sweet Amish series focuses on Mary and her relationship with Jayson, the reader is also introduced to Mary’s new friends Lilly and Betsy. These three young ladies consider themselves wallflowers because of events in their pasts. We also meet Esther, Mary’s nemesis, along with several young men. All of the characters are Amish, New Order Amish, or Christians who are former Amish.
In this second book in the series, we are back in Pinecraft. Mary and Jayson have welcomed Betsy to stay in their home on vacation for a month. This book centers around Betsy’s “life list.” Betsy explains that her list is not a bucket list—“a list of things to do before you die.” Her life list consists of “things to do to make me feel like I’m finally living.” She has been very sheltered most of her life so her list makes sense as she works at being more independent. As she works on her goals, her “life list” idea catches on and other characters make their own lists.
There are a number of interesting new characters in Her Only Wish. Some have romantic relationships and others are friends. The story also dives into the parent/child and sibling connections. Some of these characters show growth and others demonstrate a stubborn display of ego and selfishness. I found August’s story particularly interesting. He grew up as a missionary kid involved in many cultures and languages. For his parents, their mission work is more important than August. They use love or the withholding of love as a means of control, and they let everyone know how righteous they are because of their works. They put August in a difficult position on more than one occasion, and the reader gets to watch his struggle as he comes to grips with basic decisions about his future. I enjoyed Her Only Wish and look forward to reading more in the Pinecraft series.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Christian, General Fiction, Romance
Notes: # 2 in A Season in Pinecraft Series. It could be read as a standalone, but the background from #1 in the series is helpful and the book is a good read.
Publication: June 6, 2023—Revell
Memorable Lines:
“That woman is a looker, ain’t so?” “She is.” “She’s as bright as a new penny too. Sweet but with a touch of vinegar.” August chuckled. “That’s a good way to describe her.”
Betsy seemed to be really enjoying herself. She smiled the entire time—kind of the way a puppy looks when it’s allowed to roam on the beach without a leash.
But a part of him was certain that the Lord hadn’t just been at work making golf balls sail through the air…He’d also been working on August’s life. Showing him that he hadn’t been making mistakes by working for his aunt and uncle. He hadn’t been wrong to try to go his own way. The Lord had a path for every person, no matter how important or forgettable.
Death by Arts and Crafts–danger and murder
Death by Arts and Crafts
by Alexis Morgan
Although Abby and Tripp, the protagonists of Death by Arts and Crafts, are good main characters, my favorite character in this series is Zeke, Abby’s faithful mastiff-mix, with a huge drool factor and a sweetly manipulative personality. Abby doesn’t need to work, at least temporarily, and spends a lot of time volunteering on civic events. As the title indicates, in this cozy mystery, she is the liaison between the town council and the committee for Snowberry Creek’s first arts and crafts fair. Tripp is a twenty year veteran for the Special Forces and rents the mother-in-law house on Abby’s property while he attends college. He and Abby have grown close, and his protective instinct clicks in quickly when she is in danger—which happens a lot in this mystery.
Abby and two of her friends enjoy a girls’ weekend visiting neighboring fairs and are surprised to discover when they return home that a murder occurred under their noses. They are interviewed by Ben, a homicide detective, and Gage, the local police chief. From that point, things get more complicated and dangerous for Abby and her friend Dayna. Dayna is a potter who discovers her art partner Wendy has been less than honest in her business dealings. This mystery has lots of threads, several murders, some attacks, and a kidnapping. There is resolution in the end along with the revelation of surprising motivations. I enjoyed coming along for the ride, watching the mystery play out, and observing the growing friendship of Tripp and Abby.
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: Mystery
Notes: 1. #6 in the Abby McCree Mystery Series, but sufficient background is supplied for it to be a standalone.
2. Although there is a character who reads palms and tarot cards at the fair, her booth is considered an amusement by the other characters with no real involvement of the occult in the book.
3. There is a little too much emphasis on food—who eats what—for my “taste.”
Publication: December 27, 2022—Kensington
Memorable Lines:
“So, gentlemen, how many treats has Zeke conned you into giving him?” No one made eye contact, but Gage did his best to look innocent. “Let’s just say not as many as he wishes we had, but more than we probably should have. That dog has turned mooching into an art form.”
“I’ve found a home and a renewed purpose in knowing that I can help people in so many ways.”…”But that doesn’t mean it’s always easy or that bad things don’t happen to make me question some of the choices I’ve made. I think that’s true for all of us. It’s just part of life.”
“I’m not the only one who can’t resist him when he looks at you with those puppy dog eyes.” Tripp didn’t bother denying it. They both knew who held all the power in their little threesome, and it wasn’t either of the two humans.
A Baby for the Mountain Firefighter–tick-tock for babies and fires
A Baby for the Mountain Firefighter
by Melinda Curtis
When Aiden, known as “Spider” in his Hot Shot crew, has a little R & R in Las Vegas, he follows his usual pattern of “love ’em and leave ’em” with a beautiful woman. When Becca, whose biological clock is ticking, searches out the casinos and bars in the same city for a baby daddy, she thinks she has found the perfect voluntary and unwitting sperm donor in Aiden, a handsome and charming younger man. He need never know the consequences of his one night stand.
When Aiden and a very pregnant Becca meet up again, he doesn’t recognize her, and she absolutely does not want him to discover she is carrying a child he helped to create. Obviously their relationship is at the center of Melinda Curtis’ A Baby for the Mountain Firefighter, but there are other major threads woven into the plot. Aiden’s family life as a child was less than stellar and Becca, a Fire Behavior Analyst, has personal reasons for her emotional involvement in each fire. This romance includes a lot of insight into the movement of mountain forest fires, the dangers involved, and the expertise of the various crews and their responsibilities. The struggles of women in that male dominated field are also highlighted.
This was a quick read with a predictable and hoped for ending. The fun of the book was watching the characters work through their issues both personally and professionally and discovering their motivations. There are some exciting adventures as fires are fought in Idaho, but the dangers are experienced from the safety of the reader’s armchair.
I would like to extend my thanks to Melinda Curtis for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Romance
Notes: #3 in The Mountain Firefighter Series but works well as a standalone.
Publication: April 20, 2020—Purple Papaya
Memorable Lines:
The new fire toyed with the Hot Shots for only a moment before bending across their six-foot-wide break and igniting a fresh blaze on the opposite side with a heated kiss.
There was a difference on the fire line between being brave and being stupid. Jack hadn’t learned that difference, had probably never scrambled up a steep slope praying that he could outrun the fiery dragon at his heels. To him, being cautious was a sign of weakness.
“It was an accident. Patience is a virtue of good leaders and good parents.” She berated him as if she were his second-grade teacher, appalled that he’d eaten paste.
Murder with Cherry Tarts–tearoom delights throughout the mystery
Murder with Cherry Tarts
by Karen Rose Smith
What a delightful cozy mystery! I enjoyed Murder with Cherry Tarts by Karen Rose Smith from beginning to end. It has interesting characters including Daisy Swanson, a widow and co-owner of Daisy’s Tea Garden with her Aunt Iris. Daisy is at the center of the book’s many threads. There is, of course, a murder mystery which Daisy tries not to get involved in, but her kind nature won’t allow her to stand by while an innocent man is railroaded by a detective with a chip on his shoulder. That chip is connected to Daisy’s boyfriend Jonas, a former detective. Other tensions include a homeless man and his daughter and an elderly antique shop owner possibly being cheated by a family member. Also, Daisy has continuing relationship issues with her mother, preparations for the upcoming wedding of her pregnant daughter, and the struggles of her youngest daughter, who is adopted, to connect with her biological mother. It is a busy story!
The setting is Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. Although Daisy is not Amish, there are a sprinkling of references to horse and buggy transport and other Amish customs as Willow Creek is a seasonal tourist town.
Despite the various focuses on relationships, the mystery is still key. There are several suspects with plausible motives, but when the murderer is revealed in a scene replete with danger, the surprise ending is stunning.
The author follows up with an epilogue that provides a promisingly happy conclusion to the relationship threads as well as the murder investigation. There are, however, still developments to look forward to in the next cozy in this series.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Kensington Books for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 5/5
Category: Mystery
Notes: 1. #4 in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Series, but works very well as a standalone. The characters’ backgrounds are skillfully woven into the first chapter.
2. The book concludes with recipes, including one for Daisy’s famous cherry tarts that everyone raves about.
Publication: November 26, 2019—Kensington Books
Memorable Lines:
“Sharing tea with a friend is a calming experience. I think it has to do with just taking time out of your day to talk and to share. It doesn’t matter the type of tea or if you use sugar or honey or milk. It’s just the experience of sipping it that counts.”
That was exactly what grief felt like, a hole that could never be filled up.
The photographs would never reveal the tension that always bubbled up within her family. But that was the point of happy photos, wasn’t it? To remember the good times and cherish them.
A Plain Vanilla Murder–not so plain after all
A Plain Vanilla Murder
by Susan Wittig Albert
It is not like me to jump into a cozy mystery series on the twenty-seventh book. Who engages in that kind of craziness anyway? Amazingly, I didn’t find the lapse in character background knowledge to be a problem. While A Plain Vanilla Murder is not the best cozy I’ve ever read, it was very good. I particularly liked all the information provided on vanilla. I had no idea vanilla is part of an orchid plant or that there is such an active trade in exotic orchid plants.
This mystery has lots of threads. A professor is killed, and lots of enemies emerge as possible suspects. Could the motive be professional rivalry, dalliances or orchid laundering? All are sufficient to motivate an attacker, but what really happened? The main character, China Bayles, is a former criminal lawyer. This is one of the few crimes that land on her doorstep that leads her to become involved professionally.
Always interested in learning new things about a subject, I enjoyed the many quotes about vanilla that are included in the chapters as well as in the addendum. Susan Wittig Albert is a prolific writer as evidenced by this series that focuses on herbs and spices as well as the three other series she writes in addition to a number of independent books. I look forward to reading more by this author.
I would like to extend my thanks to netgalley.com and to Persevero Press for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Mystery, Women’s Fiction
Notes: #27 in the China Bayles Mystery Series, but works well as a standalone.
Publication: June 4, 2019— Persevero Press
Memorable Lines:
Campus politics are labyrinthine. A dispute involving faculty can be vicious, even if it looks like nothing more than a petty turf war over a few inconsequential footnotes in an insignificant publication. It can also be something bigger, dirtier, and deeper.
My first thought was that he was the last person on earth to do such a thing. But of course you can never tell what devils live in somebody’s private hell.
Any time you have to sit down with a cop, you immediately remember the times you’ve jaywalked or parked where you shouldn’t or failed to return a library book and now have a humongous unpaid fine. It’s stupid, of course, but it’s a universal paranoia, and completely understandable.
The Rancher’s Rescue–the vet comes home
The Rancher’s Rescue
by Cari Lynn Webb
Big E (Elias Blackwell) left the Blackwell Ranch in financial difficulties, took off in his RV with his extravagant fifth wife, Zoe, and nobody in Falcon Creek nor any of his grandsons knows where he is. Big E and his mysterious disappearance is the thread that holds this “continuity series” together.
Jon, as related in The Rancher’s Twins, is the only one of the Blackwell brothers remaining in the area. He has a full time job with his own ranch, twin daughters, and a new wife. He does what he can to keep the Blackwell Ranch above water, but calls in brother Ethan, a newly graduated veterinarian, to troubleshoot various problems including the opening of the Blackwell Guest Ranch and gaining access to more of Big E’s funds to meet expenses.
In The Rancher’s Rescue, Ethan arrives in Falcon Creek and is surprised to learn that the quiet and reliable Grace Gardner is carrying his child. Both Grace and Ethan must come to grips with what a baby means to them, their career goals, and their families. Will love play a part in their decisions about the future?
The first book in this series, The Rancher’s Twins, has a lot of action and cute five year old twins. The main characters are obviously dealing with serious issues in their backgrounds. The Rancher’s Rescue is more subdued. There is less action, fewer events, and more soul searching by the main characters as they waffle back and forth without talking anything out with each other. They have important decisions to make, but they aren’t being honest with each other or themselves. At times it almost feels like Hamlet’s soliloquy on continuous repeat. At other times the plot and interaction are quite enjoyable. The last third of the book is the most interesting as other characters intervene and force a confrontation. Things begin to happen quickly and a resolution occurs.
Author Cari Lynn Webb brings in interesting supporting characters like Katie, manager of the Blackwell Ranch; Judge Myrna Edwards, second wife of Big E—for five days; and Sarah Ashley, Grace’s sister who was Ethan’s high school sweetheart. I appreciate that there were no characters competing for Grace or Ethan romantically. That is a complication that would not have added to the plot: a triangle is not always of benefit to a romance novel.
As in the first book in the series, there is an epilogue that focuses on Big E, and this one holds a huge surprise! Although The Rancher’s Rescue is not as much of a page turner as the first book in the series, it is well-written and I enjoyed it. It also segues nicely into the next book, The Rancher’s Redemption.
I would like to extend my thanks to the author, Cari Lynn Webb for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: 4/5
Category: Romance
Notes: #2 in the Return of the Blackwell Brothers series. This could be read as a standalone, but is more enjoyable if read as part of the sequence since the town and its residents are introduced in the first book.
Publication: September 1, 2018—Harlequin Heartwarming
Memorable Lines:
Curse words banged around inside his mouth like popcorn kernels chipping his teeth, but he located his inner gentleman before he spewed any into the air.
That thought bothered him like an unseen puncture in a horse’s sole, that by the time it was discovered, the horse had developed an abscess that could cause severe damage and even death.
“We have to love and live for the moments now so that we have memories to carry us through later.”
education pathways 