A Man With a Past (Brothers in Arms, #2) by Mary Connealy

 

This is the second in the series about the Hunt brothers (half-brothers) that inherited a ranch in Wyoming from their errant father.  This story is about the oldest son, Falcon -- the ornery backwoodsman from Tennessee who is a man of few words and deadly in the woods.  He meets up with the ornery Cheyenne, half sister to Wyatt Hunt, in the woods where she is off walking off her anger at the arrival of these usurpers on the property she shares with Wyatt.  There's a lot of angst on the part of the females, and chest beating on the part of the menfolk along with a lot of interaction with the outlaws that are trying to steal the assets of the local ranchers.  As always, Mary Connealy's latest book is rollicking good fun.  Can't wait to read the third book in this saga!

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. 

Whiplash (The Champions, #2) by Janet Dailey

 

Val has come with her two sisters and her brother-in-law to the Bull Riding Championships in Las Vegas to support the family's ranch.  They have two bulls in the competition.  Val has been away for the family for a number of years trying to pursue an acting career but she has given up on that dream and just wants to be part of the family business.  Casey, the boy she left behind, is a man now and he has gone from bull riding to being a rodeo clown.  Neither one of them has forgotten the other but there has been a lot of water under the bridge.  When some of Val's past life catches up with her in Vegas, she and Casey and Val's family are all in danger.  This book contains a love story, some suspense, a lot of action and a peek into the world of bull riding.  I recommend this to anyone who just wants to read a good book.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion. 

An Amish Schoolroom: Three Stories by Amy Clipston (Goodreads Author), Kathleen Fuller (Goodreads Author), Shelley Shepard Gray (Goodreads Author)

 

These three short stories by different authors are all about young unmarried Amish ladies who want to be teachers.  Each one goes to another place to do their job.  Each one meets a local Amish gentleman and falls in love.  Each setting is different and each situation is different and together they give a birds eye view of what an Amish one room school is like.  These were entertaining and informative and each one gives you a whole story in one sitting.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Seeds of Change by Lauraine Snelling

 

Larkspur gets into a jam one night when she tries to help her younger brother out of a pickle he has gotten into at the local saloon with a card sharp.  Larkspur, as well as being a member of the local church is also a great poker player.  She enters the saloon on the way home from church one afternoon when said brother and his friend have lost big time.  She fools the cardsharp into thinking she doesn't know how to play and then ends up taking the pot and getting her brother and his friends' property back as well as a tidy nest egg for herself.  When she exposes how the man was cheating he vows revenge.  He can't stand the fact that he was bested by a young female.  Larkspur and her sisters, Forsythia, Delphenium and Lilac take off to join a wagon train on the Oregon Trail, leaving their older brother to run the family mercantile and take over the house their parents left them and also their younger brother who doesn't want to come along.  They end up buying some property in a small town in Nebraska on the trail and settle there.  This is a great tale of women that can do it all in a pinch and just an interesting look at life in a wagon train and in a small town / farm.  With four sisters I'm thinking there will end up being four parts to this series and I look forward to reading them all. 

I have voluntarily reivewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion. 

Power Play (Capital Intrigue #3) by Rachel Dylan

 

This is the 3rd book in Rachel Dylan's Capital Intrigue Series.  Vivian is a State Department attorney that gets embroiled into some shady goings on in Washington DC.  She is in danger when some international thugs think she is really a CIA operative.  A former Navy SEAL that does security, Jacob Cruz, is pressed into duty to protect her until they track down the bad guys.  I have really enjoyed this whole series.  There's plenty of crazy stuff going on in the Federal government to provide plots for a lot of suspense novels.  Rachel Dylan makes it exciting and fun.  

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion. 

 

Wanda E. Brunstetter’s Amish Friends Healthy Options Cookbook: Health Begins in the Kitchen with over 200 Recipes, Tips, and Remedies from the Amish by Wanda E. Brunstetter

 

I absolutely love this little cookbook.  There aren't a lot of recipes in it but it is a goldmine for someone who is trying to eat a special diet.  These recipes are sugar free, gluten free, dairy free etc.  I especially liked the breakfast sausage balls.  But besides the recipes, Wanda Brunstetter gives a lot of practical advice about natural supplements  and weight control.  These recipes are favorites from her Amish and Mennonite friends.  

I highly recommend this book.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

 

The Chase (US Marshals #2) by Lisa Harris

 

US Marshall Madison James has just recovered from a gunshot wound she received when someone broke into her home and tried to kill her -- the same person who killed her husband a few years ago.  She and her partner, Jonas Quinn enjoy working together but they are starting to feel more than that for each other.  The case they are now investigating gets dangerous fast as they try to track down some bank robbers.  There is a lot of fast action and suspense here.  This continues the first book in the series and fleshes out the backstory. I have loved both books and can't wait to see the next book in the series.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Heart's Charge (Hanger's Horsemen #2) by Karen Witemeyer

 

I love this series.  After the Civil War a group of soldiers that fought together organized their own group, Hanger's Horsemen," to help people that needed it in the rowdy land in Texas that they decided to settle in.  Two of the horsemen are traveling back to their "headquarters" when they come across a grieving widow who is giving birth all alone in a line shack.  Mark, one of the two, delivers the baby but the woman refuses to keep it.  Knowing the baby needs care and not knowing what to do with it, he takes it with him and they seek out a foundling home nearby.  When he takes the baby there, the woman who answers the door is the girl that refused to marry him before the war back East.  They are both shocked to see each other.  Mark and his partner get involved with helping the two ladies running the foundling home with all the things that need fixing there.  There is a lot of suspense involved and it's just overall a very interesting story.  The orphans at the home and the homeless kids roaming the area are all in need of love and these ladies are dedicated to trying to help them.  But kids are coming up missing and so Hanger's Horsemen take on the case and start looking for the outlaws that are stealing kids.  

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Blackberry Beach (Hope Harbor #7) by Irene Hannon

 

Katherine Parker is a Hollywood star in hiding.  She goes to Blackberry Beach in small town Oregon to go "missing" for a while.  She tries very hard to stay out of the public eye but she keeps running into her neighbor, Zach Garrett, who owns a Coffee Shop in town.  He left the rat race to do something more interesting to him, much to his ambitious father's disgust.  Katherine and Zach both have their own lives and their own career locations but they are fascinated with each other.  How could that work?  

I love the setting of this story and the characters in the story.  This was one of those books I couldn't put down because I have to see how it came out and I never let myself read the last page until I actually get there in the progression of the story.  I love all of Irene Hannon's books.  

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

The Amish Cowboy’s Homecoming (Honey Brook #2) by Ophelia London

 

Grace Zook has been training horses with her father for years and is an expert in her own right, but her father wants to retire and is reluctant to leave the business with her and he also needs to get the endorsement of a breeder who is bringing them a thoroughbred to train.  He hires a horse training expert from another town to come and help train the horse.  Isaac King, known as the Amish Cowboy, wants to relocate with his small daughter and earn money to buy his own home so he doesn't have to live with his deceased wife's family any longer.  He arrives with his daughter and a desire to do a good job for them, but Grace is upset by not being allowed to do this on her own so there is an immediate fly in the ointment.  

I really enjoyed this rather unconventional Amish romance.  It was fun to read.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

An Amish Surprise (Berlin Bookmobile #2) by Shelley Shepard Gray

 

Miriam and Calvin Gingerich have the perfect marriage and the perfect little farm, but they haven't been able to have a baby.  Calvin would like to adopt but Miriam wants her own baby.  When Calvin meets an Amish boy from a local foster home at the Bookmobile he wants desperately to give the little guy a home but he has to convince Miriam.  When he finally gets her to consider it she finds out she is pregnant.  But the boy really needs a home.

This was a great story.  The little farm sounded picture perfect and did not sound like any of the other Amish farms I've read about -- it sounded like a fantasy, dream setting.  Other than that, I really enjoyed the whole story and read it in one day.

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expresssed are only my honest opinion.

The Amish Secret Wish (Hidden Springs #3) by Laura V. Hilton

 

Hallie Brunstetter is the local new columnist for The Budget newspaper that circulates to all the Amish communities.  Kiah Esch is a young man who has been fascinated with the anonymous author of the column and has been corresponding with her through the newspaper.  They have developed quite a friendship through their correspondence.  When he comes to town with his parents he finds himself in the home of Hallie and her family as a visitor.  He is anxious to learn the identity of his pen-pal and goes to great lengths to track her down.  No one knows who the columnist is except Hallie, her father and the Bishop, who has decreed that no one should know who the correspondent is and has said she will be replaced if her identity is discovered.  Poor Kiah cannot seem to do anything right although his heart is certainly in the right place.  Hilarity ensues and they finally work it out.  Well worth the read!

I have voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book that I received from NetGalley.  All views expressed are only my honest opinion. 

The Amish Quiltmaker’s Unruly In-Law (The Amish Quiltmaker #2) by Jennifer Beckstrand

 

This story was fun.  The Amish Quiltmaker in the title is Esther Kiem, whose young brother-in-law, Ben Kiem can't seem to stay out of trouble until he becomes fascinated with Linda Eicher.  Linda loves the outdoors (they live in Colorado) and has a no nonsense attitude.  She's not interested in the the wild young man at first but they grow on each other.  Ben just has to get past the chip on his shoulder that keeps getting him involved in all the behaviors and activities that keep him in constant conflict with his father (the Bishop).  This was a fun frolic through the outdoors of Colorado and the innerworkings of the mind and emotions of Ben and Linda.  This is one of the most entertaining Amish romances I have read this year. 

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.