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.

Minding Molly by Leslie Gould

Minding Molly is the third in the series "The Courtships of Lancaster County".  Like the others novels this one is inspired by Shakepeare play this one being A Midsummer's Night Dream.   I have read all three books. I enjoyed book 1, book 2 not so much but I liked this one even though the main character frustrated me at times. I felt she was a little bossy to those around her particularly her little sister. Molly and her sister's beloved dat had just died from a heart attack. This farm is struggling financially and Molly must find ways to save it. It doesn't help that her mother may have a serious illness. Her mother wants her to marry Mervin, the boy next door. She feels that this is a way to save the farm. She does not love Mervin but considers it since Marvin is no longer dating her best friend until a new man arrives in town. Leon works on her best friend's farm training horses. He seems perfect for her except she is afraid of horses. Also, Leon may be planning on returning to Montana. Molly does not feel that she can leave with her mother's health up in the air.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a ecopy of this book to review.

No One to Trust by Lynette Eason

Every book that I have read by Lynette Eason has kept me in suspense and this one was no exception.  This novel grabbed me from the first page.  The heroine of the story, Summer Abernathy is a young woman married only a year finds out that her husband is not who he claims to be.  Strange and frightening men break into her house demanding a computer her husband has.   Of course she knows nothing about this and asks them for time.  They leave and then the roller coaster begins.  It is nonstop action from then on.  She connects back up with her husband who was hospitalized after an accident and they go on the run.  They don't know who to trust.  They cannot even trust the FBI who is supposed to protect them.  Also complicating the situation is a spoiled brat of a younger sister.  There are lots of twist and turns in this book and betrayals by people who which are surprising.  I don't want to give too much of the story away to spoil it for the reader. I can guarantee that you will not be disappointed if you pick up this novel and read it.   There is a new novel in the Hidden Identity series  coming out later this year and I cannot wait!   At the end of the book you get to read a preview chapter.

 I am grateful to Netgalley and Revell for providing me a copy of this ebook to review.

A Match Made in Texas by Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings and Carol Cox

When I saw that Karen Witemeyer was one of the authors of this novella collection I knew I had to read it.  The stories in this book are set in the same town in Texas.   Even though the stories are written by four different authors they are all connected.  Karen Witemeyer writes the first story which is A Cowboy Unmatched.  I was delighted  when I started reading it that the male character in this book was none other than Neil Archer.  I had met his delightful character in Short Straw Bride and again in Stealing the Preacher.    He was the last of the remaining Archer brothers yet to find love so I was delighted that he found a woman to love in this book.

I don't usually read novella collection book preferring to read a full length novel but as I said before I read this one because Karen Witemeyer had a story in it but I'm glad I did because now I want to read some of the other books by the other authors in this book.  I thought they were all well-writen however I did think the romance in the last story was a little rushed.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a coupy of this ebook to review.

Unforeseeable by Nancy Mehl

My favorite of  The Road to Kingdom series!

Callie works in the restaurant owned by Lizzie.  Everything is going well for Callie.  She is engaged to Lizze's brother-in-Law Levi Houser.  Levi has recently become the new minister of the local Mennonite church.

Everything is peaceable in Kingdom until a woman's body is discovered on the side of the road wrapped in plastic.  What complicates the murder investigation is that the woman has one of Levi's books in her hands.  Nobody knows who this woman is.  She is a stranger in town and then another woman is murdered and this time the woman is no stranger.  Is there a serial murdered on the loose in Kingdom.  Is it one of the local people or a complete stranger.  You really have no idea who it is until the last 20 pages of the book and then the surprises keep coming.

I think the romance in this novel was better developed than in the previous two novels.  Also I liked the mystery better.  It kept me turning pages until I finished.

Thanks to Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book to review.