The Christmas Child (Redemption River #4; Love Inspired #661)

LINDA GOODNIGHT

Synopsis: In Redemption, Oklahoma, a young boy is found huddled in a Dumpster, clutching a Christmas book. Scared and refusing to speak, he captures undercover agent Kade McKendrick's guarded heart. Kade brings the child home until he can track down his family - and his story. All Kade has is a name, Davey, and the boy's trust of sweet, pretty teacher Sophie Bartholomew. With her kindness and faith, Sophie helps both the boy and the battle-scarred cop to smile again. And as they uncover the mystery of a very special child, a family is formed - just in time for Christmas.

First line: In twenty years of Dumpster diving, Popbottle Jones had found his share of surprises in other people's trash.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Steeple Hill, 2011; 217 pages.

My thoughts: Linda Goodnight is one of the two authors who first got me hooked on the Love Inspired line of books (the other being Jillian Hart). Her stories are heartwarming, the settings charming (love the town of Redemption), and the characters well drawn out and easy to connect with.

Kade, staying temporarily with his aunt in Redemption, is the ultimate wounded warrior, an undercover cop who's faith has been shaken by the human horrors he has witnessed on the job in Chicago. Sophie is an optimistic and upbeat teacher who loves Christmas and winter and snow and pretty much everything that comes along. Including a lost little boy and a lost man, both of whom she longs to take care of. One is eager to accept her love, one is not.

As Kade throws himself wholeheartedly into the search for Davey's family and for answers to how and why the little boy ended up alone in a dumpster, cold and hungry and unable to talk, he also finds himself doing some soul searching about his own life and whether he really wants to go back to Chicago after the holidays. Kade is a wonderful hero who I was a little in love with from the first chapter. The banter between Kade and Sophie was amusing and I smiled a lot while reading this book.

Home To Crossroads Ranch (Love Inspired No. 485)

LINDA GOODNIGHT

Synopsis: Finally, Rainy Jernagen has the child-filled home she's always wanted! Okay, so she still hasn't found Mr. Right, but the foster kids she's taken in fill her heart almost completely. Then handyman/rancher Nate Del Rio comes knocking, and Rainy starts to wonder if she really can have it all. There's only one problem: Nate doesn't want kids. At all. And nothing Rainy says will change his mind. Of course, she's not going to let that stop her. Not when she has a houseful of adorable allies to raid Nate's ranch and win his heart – whether he likes it or not.

First line: Nate Del Rio heard screams the minute he stepped out of his Super Crew Cab and started up the flower-lined sidewalk leading to Rainy Jernagen's house.

Stats for my copy: Mass market paperback, published by Steeple Hill Books, 2009. I don't remember where I got it – I have a zillion Love Inspired books that came from book sales, my sister, and directly through Harlequin Reader Services subscriptions.

My thoughts: When talking about Love Inspired romances, I always name Linda Goodnight as one of my favorite authors (along with Jillian Hart). But looking back over my reading logs today, I realized that this book is only the third book I've read by her (the other two being Finding Her Way Home and Missionary Daddy). Obviously I really enjoyed them, but if I hadn't already discovered her, this book would make me an instant fan.

                                    

Rainy is a sweet and likable heroine, a school teacher who is fostering a sibling group of three, plus another little girl. She's always wanted a houseful of kids and after not finding a Christian man and falling in love and having kids with him, she's turned to being a foster parent instead, putting romance on the back burner. She's not adverse to being married someday, but isn't willing to settle for just any man either.

Enter Nate Del Rio. He's certainly not looking for a wife, and he doesn't want to have any kids, ever. Which was a baffling attitude, because he's really good with the kids and they take to him very quickly. There's a tragedy in his past that is often alluded to, and it doesn't take long to sort of figure out the gist of it, though he details and circumstances are still quiet a surprise when he finally tells Rainy about it.

Great characters, including the children. Some snappy dialogue that made me laugh out loud at times. A very enjoyable book.

*SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* Do not read further if you don't wish to be spoiled:

Being a foster parent can be heartbreaking at times, and some of the storyline dealing with that left a sour taste in my mouth. I work in the adoption field and I'm familiar with my state's DHS and the push for reunification. The little girl who is not part of the sibling girl ends up being placed back into her mother's custody, and I would have really liked more resolution to that storyline, i.e., reassurance that her mother really had turned her life around and that reunification really was the best step for that child. Because in real life it doesn't always work out that way.

Some other Linda Goodnight books currently in my TBR pile:

  

Rich Man, Poor Bride; The Christmas Child; A Time To Heal

    

His Prince's Secret Son; The Wedding Garden