Hopeful (Return to Sugarcreek, Book 1) by Shelley Shepard Gray

Miriam was head over heels in love with Junior Bielor.  She was downright smitten with him and he knew it.  Knowing she was smitten with him did not stop him from asking a favor of her.  He wanted to date the beautiful school teacher Mary Kate who was Miriam's best friend.  I did not like Junior too much.   Miriam was not the most beautiful gal in Sugarcreek.  She was a little on the chunky side.  I thought Junior was shallow since he only saw that Mary Kate was pretty and did not look in the beginning at the deeper beauty of Miriam.  Junior was good looking and he knew it.  He was shallow, egotistical and did not want to listen to Mary Kate when she said she was not interested in dating anybody at the time.   I did admire Junior for taking care of his younger siblings after both parents died but other than that I don't think there was much to Junior.  Maybe he'll grow on me in future books but right now I'm not too fond of him. 

This was an enjoyable book to read.  It was fun to catch up on the previous residents of Sugarcreek.  Also, one of the main characters in the previous books, Judith Graber Knox has a storyline going that I think will be played out in future books.  I'm looking forward to seeing how that will take place.

Smitten Book Club by Collen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter

Smitten Book Club is a collection of four stories written by authors Colleen Coble, Kriston Billerbeck, Diann Hunt and Denise Hunter. It is the third book in the Smitten book series. Smitten is a quaint little town in Vermont and the romance capitol of the world. The stories are about four young women in the book club. I loved the comradery of these four women. I loved how they were always there and always had an ear to listen when one of their friends had a problem. In the beginning of the book one of friends, Molly's husband has just died in the line of duty as a firefighter. Her friends organize a book sale to help defray the cost of the funeral. At the sale one of the girls finds the book "A Gentlewoman's Guide to Love and Courtship" written by Pearl Chambers who was a relative of Molly's late husband. The book gives advice to woman in the courting of men and offers clues as to a treasure that may or may not exist. Each of the four girls reads the book and gleans advice from the book. Each of the girls try to decipher clues as to where the treasure could possibly be.

My favorites were Heather's romance and Molly's romance. I had a hard time getting into the second one but it got better as the story went on. These romances follow the typical formula of a romance novel but I enjoyed it anyway. I really enjoyed the mystery of the treasure in the book and kept reading on because I wanted to know if the treasure was real.

My only gripe is that each of the stories were too short. Each of the stories would have done really well as a full length novel instead of being limited to 90 or so pages.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Thomas Nelson company for providing me an ebook of this book to read and review.

Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble

Butterfly Palace kept me in suspense from the first page. I could not put it down. The book starts out with Lily Donaldson and Andy Hawkins in love. Some people reading this book may be bothered by the fact that the two characters are overstepping the bounds of a proper courtship, a decision which they later regret doing. They are in each other's company when a fire in town kills both their fathers. Feeling he is responsible Andy flees town. Lily is hurt and rejected but she and her mother make a living for themselves. Fast forward four years and Lily's mother has died. Lily has to make a living for herself so she takes a job as a maid at the Butterfly Palace. Very quickly she runs into Andy who now goes by the name of Drew Hawes. He still loves her but she is still hurt by his actions in the past. After all he took her purity and then disappeared for four years. I like it that she did not immediately fall back into his arms. Also I like it that this time he was more mature and did not try to compromise her. Anyway he goes by the name of Drew Hawes because he is working as an undercover agent to expose counterfeiting going on. But there are other things going on in that town besides counterfeiting which is a different storyline. There is a serial killer in town killing blond haired servant girls. Lily is blond so her life is in danger. There are so many twists and turns in the story. I like it that I could not figure out who the culprits were until the author revealed it to me.

Another key character was Belle, the niece of the owner of Butterfly Palace. She was rather spoiled and looked down on the help. She was so hungry for a higher social status that she was willing to marry a man she could barely tolerate. I did not like her at all in the beginning but by the end I think she matured and liked her a little better.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me an ebook to review.

Love's Sweet Beginning by Ann Shorey

Love's Sweet Beginning is the third of the Sisters at Heart series and my favorite.  I have wanted to read Cassie's story since she came on the scene in Where Wildflowers Bloom, the first book.  Cassie Haddon has come from a privileged background but has found on hard times during the Civil War.  Since the death of her father and then her fiance she and her mother have fallen on hard times.  Cassie basically has no skills but is willing to work hard to learn rather than to depend on the charity of others.  Her mother on the other hand since the first book has been whiney, manipulative and conniving.  She had a short-lived marriage to a man who treated Cassie badly.  Her mother only married Mr. Bingley because she was used to the finer things in life that Mr. Bingley could provide.  Cassie and her mother for a short time live with Rosemary and her husband but Rosemary is expecting a baby and Cassie doesn't want to impose herself and her mother on Rosemary any longer so she takes a job as a cook in Jacob's restaurant.  She's not very good at it and gets dismissed the first day but she is determined to make a way so goes back and he reluctantly lets her continue working.  She eventually finds housing in a cabin but that is not good enough for her complaining mother.  Her mother moves to be near a brother in another town.  Cassie eventually proves her worth as a pastry chef and by the middle of the book she and the restaurant owner have started developing feelings for each other but her job is jeopardized by her mother manipulating her to come visit her in the other town.  Her mother even connives to get her hooked up with the brother of her dead fiance.  She does not love the man but he constantly pursues her even though she has rebuffed his advances.
Jacob has his own secrets that he feels that if revealed could jeopardize his relationship with Cassie and his reputation in town.
As I said I loved this book and hate to see the series end.  I hope the author has another great series in mind lined up.  I love reading her historical fiction.

Thanks to Netgalley and Revelle books for providing me a copy of this book to review.

Murder Simply Brewed By Vannetta Chapman

Murder Simply Brewed is the first novel in the Amish Village series.  I enjoyed her other mystery series involving the Amish and English and was looking forward to reading this one. I was a little bit disappointed.  It didn't grab my attention like the other series did and I often found my mind wondering.  I liked the romance that developed between the older couple Amber, a never before married woman and Tate, a widower with grand kids.  I thought the romance was sweet and not at all rushed.  I wish that the relationship between Amber and the Amish girl Hannah had been more developed.  I am not giving up on this series.  I am hoping I will enjoy subsequent novels in this series.  I think I probably will since in this novel we are just getting to know the characters.

Ethan, the manager of the coffee shop has been dead by Hannah.  His death has been deemed natural causes, a heart attack but as the story moves forward signs point that foul play may be involved.  Is it the man's wife, the homeless man or Ethan's crazed sister whose brain has been fried by past drug use? 

A new novel in this series is coming out later this year.  I will continue to read this series even though I did not fully enjoy this novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for providing me an e-copy of this book to read and review.