Mending Fences (The Deacon's Family, Book One)

SUZANNE WOODS FISHER

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2019.

How acquired: Revell Reads for review.

First line: A year had passed since Luke Schrock's exile from Stoney Ridge began.

My thoughts: Luke Schrock and Izzy Miller are two lost souls, and a little unique, at least in my experience. I don't think I've ever come across a main character in an Amish story who had a history of drug/alcohol abuse. But both Luke and Izzy have been in rehab. It was refreshing.

Izzy is a sweet character, young but not idealistic. She had a rough childhood in the foster care system. She's happy with her new life, and grateful to the community for accepting her and giving her a place to belong, even if she's not sure it's a permanent arrangement. The only thing missing is her mother, who she hasn't seen since she was five, and who she's desperately – and secretly - trying to find.

Luke is treated as a pariah by the community he was born into, after having terrorized nearly everyone with practical jokes and vandalism before being sent to rehab. He's a somewhat sweet character himself, and I felt the book was a little more his story than Izzy's. Or maybe I was just more drawn to him. He's a little bitter in the beginning. Upset that his mother can't be bothered to be there to greet him when Bishop David brings him home from rehab. And he's not too happy to learn that he'll be boarding at Windmill Farm, and sleeping in the barn. And when David presents him with a list of people he wronged and tells him it's time to mend fences, he's not thrilled at the prospect of approaching each person to apologize for his past transgression, and then having to ask them if his actions had any adverse effects on them. Which for some, the effects were very adverse.

From the synopsis I thought this would be more of a romance. And as Luke and Izzy got to know each other better it seemed to be headed that way, but it never quite got there. Not to say it wasn't an enjoyable story. It was more about Luke's redemption and Izzy's finding herself. But this is the first book in a series, so I suspect their story isn't over.

I really enjoyed watching Luke on his fence mending journey, and how his character developed and became more self aware. Izzy also grew over the course of the book, but her growth was more subtle, as her journey began off page, prior to the start of the book. For both characters, learning to trust in God and give themselves over to Him was also part of the journey. But it wasn't all serious. Some of my favorite scenes were about a mischievous raccoon and Bob the horse keeping Luke from sleeping at night. And watching Luke seriously dig in and try to help the people he had wronged was heartwarming. The ending was surprising, and I teared up more than once by the time I reached the last page.

Many of the characters in the book were introduced or appeared in one (or more) of the author's other series, none of which I've read, but I didn't feel I'd missed anything. All in all, this was an enjoyable, easy read, and while I don't feel the need to rush out and find everything else the author has written, I would like to continue with this series and will likely pick up anything else by her that I happen across. 

Goodreads synopsis: Every saint has a past. Every sinner has a future.
Luke Schrock is a new and improved man after a stint in rehab, though everyone in Stoney Ridge only remembers the old Luke. They might have forgiven him, but nobody trusts him.

Amos and Fern Lapp allow Luke to live at Windmill Farm under two conditions. First, Luke must make a sincere apology to each person he's hurt--a four-page, single-spaced list. Second, he must ask each victim of mischief to describe the damage he caused.

Simple, Luke thinks. Offering apologies is easy. But discovering the lasting effects his careless actions have caused . . . that isn't so simple. It's gut-wrenching.

And his list keeps growing. Izzy Miller, beautiful and frustratingly aloof, also boards at Windmill Farm. Luke's clumsy efforts to befriend Izzy only insult and annoy her. Eager to impress, Luke sets out to prove himself to her by locating her mother. When he does, her identity sends shock waves through Stoney Ridge.

Bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Woods Fisher returns to her beloved Stoney Ridge for this brand-new series featuring some of her readers' favorite characters.

Never Let Go

ELIZABETH GODDARD

Stats for my copy: Trade paperback, Revell, 2019.

How acquired: Revel Reads Blog Tour Program

My thoughts: When I opened the email from Revell Reads and saw this book listed, I didn't even bother to read the synopsis before requesting it. I wasn't familiar with the author, but over the last year or so I've gotten more and more into suspense and psychological thrillers, and I also love books about agents and elite investigative groups. The cover and title hinted at the first, and the words “Uncommon Justice” under the author's name hinted at the second, so I was already sold, and was very excited when my copy came in the mail and I did finally read the back cover synopsis. Austin reminds Willow to trust her instincts and follow her hunches, and I'm glad I did the same.

Willow is a forensic genealogist, a career I've never come across in a book, and I'm pretty fascinated by it now. Not genealogy in general. I have family members who've gotten those DNA kits and I have no interest in doing that. But the investigative side, the forensic side, was fascinating. Austin is a former FBI agent, and that's one of my catnips. Agents, former agents, I love them all. They both live in Washington, but when they visited the ranch in Wyoming where Austin grew up, this happened:

Austin stepped up to an old-looking brown horse in a stall and pressed his hand against the horse's muzzle. “Hey, Jinx. It's been much too long since I've seen you.”

Realization slowly dawned.

Austin...he was a cowboy. Her heart rate kicked up a few notches and the barn tilted, but she put her hand against a wooden rail to steady her fluttering nerves.

Cuz who doesn't love cowboys?! Yep, also my catnip.

Willow and Austin had previously split up after Austin refused to tell Willow anything about his past or his family. She couldn't be in a relationship with a man who kept secrets, and he couldn't bring himself to reveal a part of his life that he escaped from and pretended no longer existed. But after Willow's grandfather dies, and it becomes apparent that someone is also trying to kill Willow, they join forces to tackle the case her grandfather had been working on – searching for a child who had been abducted from the hospital shortly after birth twenty-one years ago. A child that somebody does not want them to find. 

I liked Willow, and I loved Austin. Secretive, tortured heroes? Yeah, more catnip. The characterization is written masterfully, and I enjoyed the passages of Willow or Austin internally monologuing as much as the passages of tense action. The case kept getting more and more intriguing, and the tension and suspense kept ramping up more and more throughout the second half of the book. The descriptions of the Wyoming park land and wilderness was evocative, I felt as if I were there in the woods with Willow, running for my life.

Revell is a Christian publisher, but the religious aspects of this book do not hit you over the head, and the building rediscovery of feelings between the characters is tame, with just a few kisses. While I've nothing against reading sex scenes, it's refreshing to read a wonderful love story that doesn't need sex to drive the romance forward, and Revell is quickly becoming a name I seek out more and more. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in this new series, and in the meantime will be on the lookout for the author's other books.

A solid five stars for this book.

Goodreads synopsis: As a forensic genealogist, Willow Anderson is following in her late grandfather's footsteps in her quest for answers about a baby abducted from the hospital more than twenty years ago. The case may be cold, but things are about to heat up when someone makes an attempt on her life to keep her from discovering the truth.

Ex-FBI agent--and Willow's ex-flame--Austin McKade readily offers his help to protect the woman he never should have let get away. Together they'll follow where the clues lead them, even if it means Austin must face the past he's spent much of his life trying to forget. And even if it puts Willow's tender heart at risk.

In this fast-paced and emotional page-turner, bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard keeps the stakes high, the romantic tension sparking, and the outcome uncertain until the very end.

Black Hills

NORA ROBERTS

Goodreads synopsis: A summer at his grandparents' South Dakota ranch is not eleven-year-old Cooper Sullivan's idea of a good time. But things are a bit more bearable now that he's discovered the neighbor girl, Lil Chance, and her homemade batting cage. Even horseback riding isn't as awful as Coop thought it would be. Each year, with Coop's annual summer visit, their friendship deepens from innocent games to stolen kisses, but there is one shared experience that will forever haunt them: the terrifying discovery of a hiker's body.

As the seasons change and the years roll, Lil stays steadfast to her aspiration of becoming a wildlife biologist and protecting her family land, while Coop struggles with his father's demand that he attend law school and join the family firm. Twelve years after they last walked together hand in hand, fate has brought them back to the Black Hills when the people and things they hold most dear need them most.

Coop recently left his fast-paced life as an investigator in New York to take care for his aging grandparents and the ranch he has come to call home. Though the memory of his touch still haunts her, Lil has let nothing stop her dream of opening the Chance Wildlife Refuge, but something ... or someone ... has been keeping a close watch. When small pranks and acts of destruction escalate into the heartless killing of Lil's beloved cougar, recollections of an unsolved murder in these very hills have Coop springing to action to keep Lil safe.

Lil and Coop both know the natural dangers that lurk in the wild landscape of the Black Hills. Now they must work together to unearth a killer of twisted and unnatural instincts who has singled them out as prey.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, Jove, 2010.

How acquired: Bought.

First line: Cooper Sullivan's life, as he'd known it, was over.

My thoughts: I've only read two Nora Roberts books before this one, back in 2009 (Brazen Virtue, which I have no memory of now but my notes say “I really liked it”) and 2010 (Divine Evil, which I vaguely remember, and noted “I don't think of her as a great writer, I think some of her writing is cliched.”) Well, I'm here to tell you that Black Hills has put Ms. Roberts front and center of my radar and made a believer out of me. I loved this book. Seriously, loved it.

I loved Lil. I adored Cooper. Childhood sweethearts, lovers as young college bound adults, short long-distance relationship, breakup. Twenty years later Lil is still angry at Coop for breaking her heart, and we get a long ways into the book before Coop gets the chance to explain himself to Lil. I'd forgiven him long before then. Well, no, actually, that's not true, because I didn't feel he needed forgiving. Even not yet knowing the circumstances of the split, I certainly wasn't putting any blame on either of them. But maybe because it was inevitable that they would be together by the end of the book. It is a romance, after all! And from the moment Coop arrived back in town to help out his grandparents, I just knew he was a good guy, and it was obvious neither of them ever really got over the other.

Lil runs a wildlife refuge, and there is a LOT of detail about the refuge woven into the story. The day to day stuff. Updating the website, vetting the animals, feeding the animals, cleaning their cages, educating the public. And a lot of about the land, tracking, Lil's love of riding the mountainside. It all felt very real, and I've no doubt Ms. Roberts did a lot of research.

But there's not just cougars and romance. There's a serial killer in the hills, and he's got Lil in his sites. When I got down to the last 100 or so pages, my anxiety level kept ratcheting up. I knew something was going to happen, Lil would be in danger and Cooper would probably rescue her. But the end of the book kept getting closer and closer, with me waiting and waiting for it. And when it finally did, I was sitting up in bed, tired but too tense to sleep until the book was over.

The characterization is wonderful, not just Lil and Coop, but Lil's best friend Tansy, Coops grandparents, Lil's parents, and many others. I loved the side plot about Tansy and her reservations about a relationship with the younger Farley. I liked that it was an interracial relationship, and while that was mentioned it wasn't a big deal and was accepted by all their family and friends.

Now I understand why Ms. Roberts is so dang popular! 

Fire Possessed (Twin Rivers Possession, Book One)

SEPTEMBER STONE

Goodreads synopsis: Sophie has done her best to avoid the magical world for fear of the havoc her abnormal ability wreaks on other supernaturals. As a silencer who mutes the powers of those around her, she’s spent her life among the mortals her defect can’t harm. But when Mother Nature pushes her from her home to do her bidding, Sophie has no choice but to venture to the magical town of Twin Rivers. Instead of viewing her presence as a curse, four men see Sophie’s arrival as a blessing. Carrigan, a psychic who hears everyone’s thoughts at all times. Hagan, a bear shifter who transforms at the slightest provocation. Jonas, whose losses have left him isolated and jaded. And Valor, a vampire without conscience or remorse. Drawn to Sophie, these irresistible men find themselves caught up in a dangerous whirlwind of magic that runs deeper than they can imagine. But Sophie can’t allow her mounting attraction to keep her from her mission—because Mother’s wrath destroys everything it touches. 

Stats for my copy: Kindle Edition, 1/14/19

How acquired: Hidden Gems ARC Program

First line: The moment the stench of freshly-burning wallpaper creeps under my bedroom door and smacks my nose, my dream where I'm mapping out future lesson plans comes to a blunt stop.

My thoughts: Billed as a “full length reverse harem urban fantasy adventure”. What isn't mentioned is that it just abruptly ends with no resolution to the plot. Grr.

Now that that gripe is out of the way. It's really the only gripe I have. Well, that and the cover, which looks like it belongs on a completely different book. I can't even begin to picture Sophie dressed the way the cover model is. Anyway, I used to read a lot of paranormal, and got a bit burned out on it. But the synopsis for this book sparked my interest as it sounded a bit different. And it very much is. In the world of this book, there are magical creatures, most of whom live in Twin Rivers. Sophie is a witch, but her magic is quite different than other witches, in that when she is around, other's magic disappears. Obviously, this makes her presence a bit unwelcome to others in the magical community. So Sophie's father raised her away from Twin Rivers, in a community where magic is unknown.

Sophie has a connection to Mother Nature that I'm still a little unclear about. Mother Nature uses Sophie for her own purposes, and if Sophie refuses her bidding, Mother Nature retaliates by, say, burning her house down in the middle of the night. Mother Nature wants her to seek out a mage in Twin Rivers who can restore a lost river. So off Sophie goes, where one by one she meets up with the four men who I guess make up the “reverse harem”.

I was a little afraid that this book was going to devolve into just a bunch of sex scenes between Sophie and the four men, with some loose storyline to connect them (I'm looking at you Anita Blake!). I'm happy to report that did not happen. In fact, there's not really any sexual action until midway through the book, and did not involve every character. But even then, the story still took precedence. The connection between Sophie and each of the other characters was clear, or if not clear at first, became clear as you learned more about the characters. And the characters are well written. Of course they are all quite different from each other, what with one being a shifter and one being a vampire. A couple of the men do not make good first impressions, but as the author peeled away the layers of their personalities, they become more liable, more vulnerable, and more welcome to the party.

I read this book in two sittings. I probably would've read it straight through in one sitting if company had not shown up at my house. It did start out a little slow, but once Sophie met the first two men it picked up with some of the dialogue making me laugh. Also, I was on page 75 when it suddenly hit me that the narration is in present tense. My least favorite tense, and I didn't even notice until 75 pages in! Score one for the author, and I look forward to Book Two.