I think my favorite book in this new list was Madeleine L’Engle’s The Other Side of The Sun. Although Gathering Storm stands out for me too. It deals with murder but it’s treatment is not terribly dark. The story leans more toward family dynamics than it does toward murder itself. Family members are developing compatibility in unexpected ways. Especially the protagonist. Stephanie is savoring the gain of the loving step family she was never allowed to know. And she is beginning to see her father in a whole new light too.
Ella Dessa’s Story – Within the Candle’s Glow book 2 – Karen Campbell Prough … This is a complicated love story where hearts are broken. Ella Dessa and Samuel are best childhood friends and he’s grown to love her. She loves him as a friend but it’s his older brother Jim she’s in love with. Then there’s Josh. A dirty, unkempt, and injured miner, Josh has recently come to town with a bag of gold and wild tales about how he got it. He fancies himself in love with Ella and will resort to kidnapping to have her. Samuel loves her enough to risk his life to rescue her and return her to his brother.
But, ….. it’s not quite that as simple as all that.
Ella Dessa’s Story – With This Peace book 3 – Karen Campbell Prough … There is a third brother in the McKnapp clan, the wanderer Duncan. He’s spent many years away from the family farm always returning with grand tales of fame and fortune. This time he returns with arguments to convince his brothers, Jim and Duncan, to join him in a venture that he says can’t lose. He tells them stories of vast fertile farmland in Florida, just for the taking. Ella Dessa was not in favor of the trip to begin with and with confusing inaccurate maps and continually changing plans she faces hardship like she’s never known. Left alone with her children in an unfamiliar part of the world, she would have died without the help of kind souls travelling the same lonely, isolated path.
When Darkness Falls – The Gathering Storm book 1 – Barbara Warren … Stephanie hasn’t seen her undependable and dishonest father in three years. She’s shocked to see him at her door now. He’s here to convince her to visit the grand hotel he shares with his celebrity wife. Suspicious of his motives she refuses to go with him.
It seems too easy. He accepted her refusal and left. It was too easy. The valuable diamond necklace borrowed from her aunt is missing. He doesn’t need it. It’s an enticement. He knows she will follow him to get it back.
In a rage, she storms through the hotel looking for him. She finds him alright. In his room, dead. And they think she did it.
So, why did he want her here? If she knew that, maybe she could figure out who would want to kill him.
The Other Side of The Sun – Madeleine L’Engle … Stella is barely married when her new husband is sent on a diplomatic mission to some unknown place in the world, for an indefinite period of time. He’s left her alone in the deep south, beach front, family cottage. Living with elderly relatives she’s just met, in a culture she knows nothing about.
Day to day living has her stumbling into dark family secrets she wasn’t supposed to find. The three ancient aunts warn her against certain people and certain places but she doesn’t listen. People approach her with invitations she sees no reason to decline. She has no idea what kind of clan she’s married into, or the dangerous repercussions of exposing their long buried secrets.
She may not have survived without the wise intervention of the one aunt who knows all of the family secrets, and the identity of the true owner of the massive cottage with the legendary pirate history.
Madeleine L’Engle is a master story teller and weaves an awesome tale.
The Gilded Curse – Marilyn Turk … Her brother Robert died at Pearl Harbor. Shortly after, came the death of her mother in a mental hospital. Lexie is left as the sole heir to a crumbling family empire. A common dilemma for the wealthy of those days. Her empire has been reduced to an abandoned family cottage on a holiday isle of the wealthy. A cottage her mother claims is cursed.
The clubhouse is still catering to their members and staff arranges to meet her ferry, even though she hasn’t advised them of her arrival time. Both the fact she was met and the identity of the person meeting her are surprises. She is arriving with plans to sell the cottage but Russell has another agenda. He plans to convince her to change her mind and keep it.
Another story with dark family secrets and hidden agendas.
It’s summertime and publishers are promoting an abundance of reading material for those days of leisure at the beach and cottages. I’m thrilled. I hope you too. Are you taking advantage of the extra opportunities?
Happy summertime reading!
Second Chances Series – Second Time Around book 4 – Morris Fenris … A stalker has terrified Jess, enough to force her to consider relocation. A pediatric oncology nurse, she’s excited when a friend tells her of an opening in a small and beautiful mountain town. The clinic caters to cancer patients with the sideline of a small office for regular local emergencies. It sounded like a perfect fit.
Second Chances Series – Sara in Montana book 1 – Morris Fenris … Sara entered the small town drug store in the middle of a snow storm looking for a bathroom and cough syrup, in that order. She was doubled over with coughing and exhausted from so many hours on the road but she had to keep moving. She doesn’t feel safe enough to stop yet.
Lost and Found – Ginny Yttrup
Nanostealth Series – Stealthy Steps book 1 – Vikki Kestell …. Gemma Keyes is unremarkable. With a degree in business and little-to-no knowledge of science she find herself employed in a high level nanophysics research center and she’s not sure how or why it happened. The lab is housed in an abandoned military weapons storage facility built into the side of a mountain, with unobtrusive escape tunnels and multiple security fences. Her duties are to care for the administrative needs of two researchers – physicists who seem to hate each other.
Reluctant Melody – Sandra Ardoin … Joanna is anxious to sell her rundown property after the death of her husband. Partly for lack of upkeep funds, partly to escape vicious rumors. There are some who think she was responsible for her husband’s death. Joanna’s willingness to sell disappeared when she discovered the prospective buyer is a mistake from her past. How did he know where she was, or did he know?
Be Mine – Rick Mofina … Molly has been waiting at Jake’s Bar & Grill for over an hour. It’s not like Cliff to be late without calling. Something is really wrong.
Conclusive Evidence – Al Macy … Garrett Goodlove used to be an arrogant defense lawyer and he’s lost the stomach for it. Family Law is easier to live with. His twin sister, Carly, finds herself in need of a good defence lawyer and insists she wants him. He’s worried he’s lost his edge and won’t be able to give her the defence needed. He may be right.
A Preston Barclay Mystery – Murder Mezzo Forte book 2 – Donn Taylor … Two professors stop by a colleagues office, as requested, and discover she has been murdered. This time they have witnesses to prove they aren’t the killers. Unlike their first involvement in discovering a body.
The Lazarus File – Donne E. Taylor … Undercover Agents are dying and they don’t know how it’s happening. Even off-the-books, deeply embedded agents no one is supposed to know about are having their covers blown. The challenge is; to stay alive – and uncover the person behind these killings. Everything points to insider information but how is that possible with only a handful of trusted knowledgeable people? It’s time to involve an outside agency as handlers, keeping inside information to a minimum. It looks like they are trusting a double agent but who.
Secrets and Wishes – Kathleen Rouser …. Maggie, and Thomas, each widowed, struggle to do their best as single parents. Maggie goes to great lengths to avoid Thomas. It’s hard to see her husband replaced by the new pharmacist in the store he loved.
The Second Yes – Five Wedding Dress Romances (Crossroads Collection) – Verde, Havig, Bridgeman, Terry, Tru
Beauty in Flight series – Beauty in Hiding book 2 – Robin Patchen ….. Harper has an undeserved prison record which limits her options and she’s desperate with a sudden need to go into hiding. It appears Red, her Alzheimer patient, is being poisoned and she suspects his grandson is behind it. Money and security are major hurdles in this flight. Red is wealthy but she has no way to safely access any of his money, not with his grandson in charge of finances. The first priority is finding a place to hide, she will have to figure everything else out after that.
An Angela Marchmont Mystery – The Mystery at Underwood House book 2 – Clara Benson
Larry Macklin Mysteries – March’s Luck book 5 – A.E. Howe
Walden Beach Series – Love’s Redemption book 3 – Andrea Boyd
An Alex Vane Media Thriller – The Mockingbird Drive book 3 – A.C. Fuller
The Hearth Land Volume One – Chautona Havig
Crazy Love – Francis Chan
A Heart Set Free – Janet S, Grunst …… Heather Douglas is desperate for a new start after the death of her father, and the betrayal of both her intended and her brother. Left with no resources, fleeing an unjust scandal, she books passage to America as a seven-year indentured servant.
The Hope Series – Flight 259 book 1 – Staci Stallings …. Three years and Jenna is still reeling from the loss of her father, husband, and daughter. Claustrophobic living with her mother, she decides on a drastic change. Missing her flight by seconds, she can’t turn back or she will lose the courage to try again. A ticket on the next available flight anywhere, as long as it’s East, is what she has to do.
Midnight is My Time – Mike Dellosso …. Andy Mayer is struggling to survive. Just like everyone else after The Event, the one that saw many people mysteriously disappear. War has broken out between animals and the remaining humans. The animals seem to be winning.
The Bargain – Aaron D Gansky ….. Connor Reedly is devastated, his beloved wife is dying of cancer, and he doesn’t want to miss a minute of the time she has left. They’ve made the long trip to visit Nadine’s sister because there is an urgency about her dying wish. He thinks they would be better staying home but he can’t deny her anything.
That First Montana Year – Donna L Scofield ….. Beatrice Anne and Will had been best friends all through school. They had talked of marrying one day…. until beautiful, flirtatious Victoria came to town and Will was hooked. His mother had grand plans for her son and encouraged the romance, hoping Will would go to university, read law, and marry into a wealthy family.
Mitchell’s Crossroads – A Twist of Faith book 1- Pepper Basham …… Dee is caught in a bad place. She has earned her doctorate and landed a research position in a small university near the Blue Mountain area where she was raised. Alex, her immediate supervisor, visits her office on the pretext of checking in with her. Before he leaves the real reason comes out, he wants her research notes on accent modification for his presentation as keynote speaker.
Serenity Landing Second Chances – Discovering Home book 1 – Carol Moncado ….. A lost and bedraggled puppy on the edge of his country estate is about to change Jonathan’s life in unexpected ways. It all happens after a trip to the vet, followed by a stop at the grocery store for puppy supplies. A chance meeting with a precocious little girl is only the beginning.
The Agency Files – A Forgotten Truth book 4 – Chautona Havig …. This is a mystery thriller. I appreciated it but ….. the reading experience was a little murky in places. As always, Chautona comes up with interesting and engaging stories and this one was interesting and still worth reading.
A Jeremy Winter Thriller – Dead of Winter book 2 – Tom Threadgill …. For reasons Jeremy Winter does not understand, he’s been transferred to an FBI desk job in the middle of nowhere, working cold cases. It’s a lonely adjustment and he’s missing his girlfriend, who also happens to be his current boss. Occasionally he gets called in to help on a case, one of her cases.
Crossroads Collection Betwixt Two Hearts ….. ….. Betwixt Two Hearts – Amanda Tru, The Swedehearts Glory Quilt – Cathe Swanson, Whole Latte Love – Kari Trumbo, Seoul Refuge – AlanaTerry, Guardian of Her Heart – Carol Moncado, Random Acts of Shyness – Chautona Havig
Faded Photograph Series – Broken Things book 1 – Andrea Boeshaar ….. Allie was young and wary of marriage. Jack was devastated when she left him behind to take a job with her father in another city.
Faded Photograph Series – Hidden Things book 2 – Andrea Boeshaar ….. Looking through her mother’s mail, Kylie opens a wedding invitation and out falls an old photo. A group of friends – three girls and a guy. Her mother is one of the girls and they are part of a political demonstration, by the look of the signs they carry. The date on the picture is April 1969 but that can’t be right. Kylie was born in April and her mother does not look like she’s nine months pregnant. Marching in a protest can’t be right either – her mother was the most private, conservative person she knew. If this picture is real, it would appear her mother has been hiding some things all these years.
Focus on Love Romance Box set – Catch of a Lifetime, Dance Over Me, Focus on Love – Candee Fick
First Crush – Ashley Elizabeth Ludwig …… Natalie is shocked to receive a call from a lawyer informing her the grandmother she didn’t know existed is dying and needs her to be there. Newly arrived in town, the pressure is to sell is already being applied.
The Forgotten Life of Evelyn Lewis – Jane Rubietta ….. Evelyn’s company is on the brink of bankruptcy and a desperate need for a solution has her deciding to sell her inheritance – a farm she loved as a child. The property is tied up in an unexpected and complicated trust, making a quick sale impossible. The pressure mounts as her office demands her time and presence, and the farm trust demands the same.
Aspiring Hearts Series – Skirting Tradition book 1 – Kay Moser ….. This is book one in the story about a young woman with aspirations of becoming a teacher, in a time when it was socially unacceptable. The second book Ruffling Society was mentioned in the post before this one. It was actually more about Sarah’s training years. This one is more about the characters she had as mentors at the beginning of her educational journey. They were women who defied tradition and achieved most of their dreams. They paid a dear price for those decisions but if they had it to do over, they wouldn’t change a thing. Well, maybe some things but not the ones that counted.
Love on the Santa Fe Trail series – Wagon Train Baby book 1 – Linda Ford ….. Donna Grace does not trust men. Unmarried and pregnant, since her husband was already married, she’s trying to return to Santa Fe where she was raised. Her wagoneer father has decided not to go this trip, leaving her without a male escort. The wagon master will not allow an unattended female to travel with him, ever.
Willow Falls Series – The Secret of Willow Inn book 1 – Pat Nichols …. Emily, who has always longed for a sister, is devastated when her parents are killed in a tragic car crash. She’s only just told them she is expecting twin girls.
A Southern Season: Four Stories From a Porch Swing – Lillie Beth in Summer – Eva Mae Everson, Ice Melts in Spring – Linda W Yezak, Through an Autumn Window – Clair Fullerton, A Magnolia Blooms in Winter – Ane Mulligan ….. I found these stories didn’t all appeal equally but were still worth the read. Each romance was unique.
Lord of Her Heart – Sherrinda Ketchersid …. Her father sent her to a convent allowing only sporadic visits to the castle she calls home. She’s worried because he’s not answered her letters in more than a year. She overhears a conversation between two nuns, planning to marry her off soon unless she willingly takes her vows as nun. Disguising herself as a young lad she runs away before this can happen.
Finding Love in the Low Country Series – Somewhere a Rainbow book 1, After the Storm book 2, Southern Gentleman book 3, Catch of a Lifetime book 4 – Yvonne Lehman …. All four were stories worth reading. Painful pasts, secrets, family responsibilities, learning to trust again.
Aspiring Hearts Series – Ruffling Society book 2 – Kay Moser …. Sarah is the daughter of an immigrant farmer and is destined to marry the son of a neighbor so that, jointly, their farms will prosper. Her dream is to become a teacher. Her mother had such a dream, once, and is determined to help Sarah escape.
For the Love of Books 