Last Chance Christmas by Hope Ramsay

Dear Reader,

I've been wishing for a miracle for my oldest boy, Stone, and this Christmas my prayers might just be answered!

Her name is Lark, and she's here in Last Chance, looking into her father's past-and stirring up a whole mess of trouble without meaning to.  As the chief of police, Stone sure has his hands full trying to keep with her.  Ever since his wife died, Stone's put everything into raising his daughters and dodging the Christ Church Ladies' Auxiliary matchmakers.  And it's clear Lark has been through some trouble and could use a place to finally call home.  I only hope Stone can let go of the past soon enough to keep her. . .

Goodness, I need to stop talking and finish up Jane's highlights so we can make the town tree-lighting.  You come back by because the Cut 'n' Curl's got hot roller, free coffee, fresh-baked Christmas cookies-and the best gossip in town.

See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes

Fault Lines by Rebecca Rogers Maher

Sarah Murphy plans other people’s weddings. She’s gorgeous and successful, but she also carries a dark secret.

At one of her events, she meets Joe Sullivan, a sexy photographer with a difficult past of his own. When he snaps a rare unguarded photograph of her and captures the real person hiding behind the facade, she feels exposed. To restore the upper hand, she tries to do what she always does: use sex to defuse the situation.

While Joe is eager to deepen his relationship with Sarah, he’s aware of her emotional shield and the way she disconnects from her body. Seeing her at her most vulnerable doesn’t scare him off, but he needs to know what she’s hiding.

Sarah has a tough decision to make. Does she want to go on living a lonely, emotionally frozen life? Or can she finally risk revealing the truth and move forward with Joe?

Read Your Writes Review

****This book deals with sexual abuse of a minor and how that abuse has affected the abusee years later.****

Before I start, I need to point out this book isn’t your typical romance.  The main character, Sarah, has serious issues.

This is the first story I’ve read by Rebecca Rogers Maher.  In fact, before this book, I’ve never heard of her.  I went to her website and looked her up.  I will say that it was quite a treat to find an author who made a conscience decision to write about real people in real situations.

I’m going to do what I don’t like to do with reviews and actually tell you what happened with the book.  I generally HATE giving away too much about a book, because then why would you buy it.

Like most victims of sexual abuse, Sarah knew her abuser.  She was even very close to him and loved him with all her heart.  The abuse occurred when Sarah was fourteen.  She feels that she was old enough to have said no and thus feels in some ways she encouraged it and that it was fine.  She finds relief from her demons by cutting herself.  Throughout the book Sarah is a nurturer and protector.  She protects her abuser by making excuses for him and she protects her mother by not telling her about the abuse and talking about her feelings for all of these years, and talking about all the sacrifices her mother made for her and feeling she has to be with her mother, when she’s going through a horrible loss.  To a certain extent, it would appear that Sarah’s mother unbeknownst to her encouraged the abuse.

I don’t want to say that Sarah is your typical sexual abuse survivor, because there isn’t anything typical about this sort of thing.  Sarah continues to abuse her body by hooking up with guys she doesn’t care about and know will never care about her, until she made a mistake and mis-read Joe.  Sarah likes to be in control and after one night, Joe turned the tables on her.

I found Joe to be a remarkable man in that at the first sign of trouble he didn’t run.  Through photography, Joe has learned to read people.  He immediately knows that Sarah is hiding something.  He just doesn’t know what and how bad it actually is.  Joe isn’t a perfect man and he doesn’t pretend to be.  He has his own past that he works hard to overcome every single day.  Joe is a strong man and he fights for Sarah every single day.

What I like about this book is that it shows Sarah as a survivor.  She doesn’t see herself as that, but she is.  She’s conflicted about a lot of things in her life and she tries for perfection.  "Sarah", like so many other women in the world is REAL.

When I got this book, I had absolutely no idea what it was really about.  You don’t see a happily ever after ending.  Part of me wants to say that this isn’t even a romance book.  What you do get is a story that’s real.  I’m sure there are hundreds, if not thousands of “Sarahs” out there.  For those “Sarahs:, I think this book lets them know there is hope.

The book is rather short.  It’s only 126 pages.  I found the ending to be very abrupt.  You can only assume that Sarah and Joe were actually able to overcome all the demons from their past and realize that it’s okay to be happy and in love with someone who truly loves you and would never ever hurt you.

I don’t usually recommend books which I haven’t read.  However, Fault Lines is part of a trilogy written by Rebecca.  The first book in the series is I’ll Become The Sea.  This book showcases the story of Jane, Sarah’s best friend.  Fault Lines vaguely mentions Jane having a tattered past.  I am curious to see what it was and how she truly managed to overcome her demons to find her happy ending.  I am definitely adding it to my to read list.

I was provided an Advanced Readers Copy via NetGalley in order to review this book.

Please visit Rebecca’s website to learn more about her and her Recovery Trilogy series.

Purchase Fault Lines at Amazon

The Welcome Home Garden Club (A Twilight, Texas Novel) by Lori Wilde

Traditional meaning of Pink and White Roses: I love you still and always will.

 

Caitlyn Marsh stopped believing in happily-ever-after when high-school sweetheart, Gideon Garza, left for Iraq. Now she raises her small son while her matchmaking gardening club members drive her crazy. Then Caitlyn's world turns upside-down when Gideon swaggers back to Twilight.

Gideon had left town in the middle of night with threats ringing in his ears. A lot of things have changed since then. This bad boy-turned-Green Beret bears scars from the war, the timid girl he loved is an independent mother, and the father who refused to recognize his son in life has, in death, left him a vast cattle ranch.

He still aches for Caitlyn, and now there's a dark-haired boy who looks exactly like Gideon did at that age. Could the child be his? And can this war-weary soldier overcome the scars of the past to claim the family he so richly deserves?

Ready Your Writes Review

 

This is the fourth book in the Twilight, Texas series by Lori Wilde.  However, it is the first book by Lori that I have read.  It will not be the last.

 

The story centers around two characters, Caitlyn Marsh and Gideon Garza.  Two high school sweethearts who have had the last eight years of their lives changed dramatically as a result of things done to them by the adults in their lives.

 

Caitlyn Blackthorne Marsh grew up being privileged, as the only child of Judge Richard Blackthorne and his late wife Angelica.  Gideon Garza grew up on the wrong side of town.  Being the son of a maid and not knowing who his father was, until the day his mother died.

 

Gideon burned down the barn of his father.  His father's friend, who happened to be Judge Blackthorne, gave him a choice of going to jail or joining the military.  Gideon did the only thing he could do and joined the Army.

 

I was immediately drawn to the two lead characters because despite everything that has happened to them individually over the past eight years, they're still good people.  And they each still have a deep love and respect for one another.

 

I think I fall in love with Gideon immediately.  There are so many reasons to love him.  It's hard to find a place to start.  Gideon could forever hold a grudge against his father and Judge Blackthorne for their parts in making him into the "broken man" that he is, but he really doesn't.  He knows that their actions made him a better person in the end.  Gideon manages to forgive all of those who did him wrong.  I find that very impressive and honorable.

 

When it comes to Caitlyn, I completely understand where she's coming from.  She has some issues with forgiving.  I really don't think anyone can blame her for that.  She's admirable in her loyalty to her husband for everything that he did for her.

 

One thing that surprised me about the book was the small element of "who did it".  It added a nice layer to the story.

 

By the end of the book, I found myself wishing that it wasn't over and that it would just continue.

 

I'm a series reader and I prefer to read books in series order.  I can honestly say that this book doesn't have to be read in order.  Previous book characters are mentioned, but you won't find yourself wondering if you missed something important about them.

 

This was a book actually purchased by me.

Rating:  3 1/2

 

You can find out more about Lori and her other books at:  loriwilde.com

The Welcome Home Garden Club can be purchased at:  Amazon 

 

The Advocate's Dilemma by Teresa Burrell

Attorney Sabre Brown's day is going well until she walks into her office and finds a dead man sprawled across her desk.  When Bob, her best friend and colleague, is suspected of the murder and Sabre's minor client has information that might clear him, Sabre has a dilemma.

 

How does she help her best friend without betraying the confidence of the child she is sworn to protect?

 

Teresa Burrell's The Advocate's Conviction

Sabre Orin Brown's clients keep disappearing.  With seemingly no connection between the cases, Sabre enlists the help of her southern PI friend, JP, and her best friend, Bob, to find each of them--before it's too late.  In her race against the clock, Sabre must determine whether contemporary horrors are being buried in the shadow of dark traditions--or if it's something else at work.  A conspiracy years in the making, secrets hidden for decades, and the twisted work of a mysterious society have all come together in the ultimate test of the strength of Sabre's conviction.

The Advocate's Betrayal by Teresa Burrell

The Killer left nothing behind but a rosary, a kitchen knife and a dead man.  But the dead man is a friend of Sabre Orin Brown.  When his unsuspecting wife is accused of the murder, Sabre will stop at nothing to uncover the truth, even if it means unearthing chilling secrets.

 

From a San Diego jail to the shady Chicago nightlife, Sabre's search for the true killer forces her to face the question: What do you do when the ones you trust the most are the ones with the most to hide?

The Advocate by Teresa Burrell

For Sabre Orin Brown, life is good; she has it all...or would have, if only she could solve the mysterious disappearance of her brother. The search for her brother and her career as a Juvenile Court Attorney collide when she defends a nine-year-old whose father will go to any length to obtain custody.

Sabre finds herself immersed in a case with too many unanswered questions. Her quest for the truth takes her coast to coast and five years into the past. Confronted with mysterious clues and strange occurrences, Sabre is threatened by someone wanting to make her suffer the unbearable anguish of losing everything--including her life.

As Sabre's passion to find the answers intensifies, she discovers a twisted history of desperation, deceit, and revenge. And she discovers how obscure and treacherous the truth can be.

Molly O'Keefe's Unexpected Family

Overview

 

Jeremiah Stone: rodeo superstar. Good-time guy. Father of three? That’s one pair of boots Jeremiah never expected to fill. Then his three nephews are orphaned, and his entire life changes. Not only is he now playing parent, he’s also running the family ranch. It’s almost too much for this cowboy.

Until he encounters Lucy Alatore.

He recognizes that look in her eye and knows a steamy fling could make him feel more like himself. But the intense heat between him and Lucy is distracting him from three little boys who need his undivided attention. He’s forced to choose one over the other…unless he can convince Lucy this family isn’t complete without her!

Read Your Writes Review

This is the first book I've ready by Molly O'Keefe, so I didn't know what to expect.

Lucy Alatore is a down and out jewelry designer, who's lost her Los Angeles business because she wanted to make fast money.  Previously, she made a name for herself by making beautiful individually handmade jewelry.  Down on her lucky with no place to go and in need of a much needed break, she and her mother return to their hometown of Wassau, California.

Jeremiah Stone is a former rodeo star.  Not only has this ladies man lost his beloved bull riding career due to a near death experience, he has to take care of his family ranch.  Add to the equation, this confirmed bachelor is now a mother and father to his deceased sister's three young boys.

This story is about love, second chances, and truths that you never knew existed.

Part of me wants to say that the story is slow, but that's not the case.  This isn't your guy meets girl and they fall madly in love and spend the rest of the book doing the dirty deed.  This story builds and pulls at your heartstrings.  You'll wish you could force the characters to get out of their heads and shake them into saying or doing what you know they should do.

While the story is mainly about Lucy and Jeremiah's journey together, you also get another mini love story.  The story of Lucy's mom, Sandra, and Walter, Lucy's father's best friend.

Lucy's sister, Mia, is married to Walter's son, Jack.  Lucy and Mia never really cared for Walter.  Walter is a drunk who lets his wife beat Jack as a child.  Then when Lucy's father, A.J. passed away, Walter allowed his wife to kick A.J.'s family out of their home. 

It's interesting how as kids, we only look at things on the surface.  It is only when we become adults that we allow ourselves to dig deeper into situations and the actual meaning of those situations.

Lucy, Jeremiah, Walter, and the three boys are all lost souls who never realize how much they need each other.  Each help the other to find their way from the darkness and into the light.

This book was given to me by the author, as part of a contest.

Rating:  4

You can find out more about Molly O'Keefe and her other books by visiting her website:  molly-okeefe.com

Purchase through: Amazon

Blaze of Winter by Elisabeth Barrett

Winter heats up in this hot new Star Harbor romance, as another sexy Grayson brother, a wickedly handsome writer, plots his happily ever after with a sweet stranger.

Frustrated with her job in Boston, social worker Avery Newbridge welcomes the opportunity to reassess her life when family asks her to help manage the Star Harbor Inn. Trying to figure out her future is overwhelming enough, but she doesn’t count on distraction in the form of one Theo Grayson, the gorgeous, green-eyed author who she knows is trouble from the moment he saunters into the inn.

Not only does he have a talent for writing swashbuckling adventures, but Theo also has a soft spot for big-hearted damsels in distress, especially a woman who’s great at helping everyone—except herself. Avery’s demons challenge him, but for desire this hot, he isn’t backing down. With every kiss and heated whisper Theo promises her his heart . . . if only Avery is willing to open up and accept it.