Double Blind by Brandilyn Collins

Lisa Newberry is experiencing extreme depression. She suffered several miscarriages, the tragic accidental death of her husband and then she suffered an attack. She was not mentally able to handle all these things that happened in her life so she agreed to become a test subject for an experimental chip to be implanted in her brain. The chip would eliminate all depression. She didn't know whether she would get the placebo or the real chip. At first life was grand for her. Depression all gone. Life couldn't get any better. She felt she had a new lease on life and could breathe again and then the nightmares began. Glimpses of a horrific murder would invade her thoughts. It was as if she were seeing the murder happening through her own eyes.

Brandilyn Collins is known for her seatbelt suspense novels and this one was no exception. This one kept me on edge the whole time. This novel had an Alfred Hitchcock flair to it. It kept me in suspense wanting to know what was going to happen next. I don't want to give too much of the plot away to spoil it for the reader but just to say you will not be disappointed. I did not see the ending happening the way it did.

Thanks to Netgalley and B&H  Publishing group for providing me this book to review. No payment was received for this review.

The At Home with Beldon Cove Series

The Edge of Night

Mollie McGarvie had a good life. She had Samuel, her loving husband, three healthy children with another on the way. And then an unexpected tragedy happened to her. Her husband died of cholera. She thought she would be able to provide for herself and her children by working at her husband's business. What she did not know was that her husband's evil and deceitful brother had tricked Samuel out of his portion of the business. She had no way of providing for her children. Not wanting to back to her controlling father in Texas, Mollie decides to pack up everything and move to Indiana. She had a slave woman who was dear to her heart since childhood and was planning to free her once she arrived in Indiana, a free state; however her plans were twarted when the hateful brother-in-law out of spite decided to claim the slave. This was not the end of her troubles. An incident happened on the way to Indiana that left her bitter toward a young doctor.

All and all I enjoyed the book and admired how she handled her hardships. It was interesting to see how she managed to find a way to support herself. She took something that was a hobby and turned it into a way to support her family. I did get annoyed at her that she held a grudge against the doctor for about 60 percent of the book. She did finally find love again but I did not feel that the romance could have been developed more.

I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the series.

The Promise of Morning 

Ellie Craig had way too much tragedy in her own life. She lost her parents at a young age but she was raised by a loving aunt and uncle. She married young (age 14) to a man a few years older than her. She had several losses of children dying as infants. Her husband, Matthew, though loving most of the time was not as patient with her as he could be. He could not understand why she was overprotective of their infant baby. He had his own problems when a man with the Beldon name came into town and tried to take over the church where Matthew was a pastor. Matthew decided to take a job as a circuit preacher for a while leaving his wife to deal with harvesting the crops with just herself and her older surviving children. I love how the twists and turns in the story toward the end of the book at the end when we discover more family. I love how Ellie and Matthew were finally able to work through all their marital problems. It was also nice to re-visit and catch up on the characters from the first book in the series.

Dawn of a Dream

Dawn of a Dream is the last book in the At home in Beldon Grove series. I like how the author develops her characters in the first book and you get caught up with the characters in the subsequent books. I recommend that you read these books in order. If you read the last book in the series and then go on to read the first book in the series you are going to be spoiled. The first book will be ruined for you because you will know ahead of time what happens to one of the major characters.

The first two books had an edge of suspense in them. The last book not so much. The main character finds she is married to a bigamist just one month after she has been married. He good for nothing scoundrel of an ex-husband left her with something which she did not find out until she was enrolled in a teaching school.

One thing that bothered me about the book is why it was necessary for her to seek a divorce. I would think that a marriage like this would qualify for an annulment. Another thing that bothered me is how she was able to go almost up to the full term of her condition and still go to school. It is a difficult task for a woman to do in this day and time so I can fully imagine how difficult it would be in the horse and buggy days.

I loved the man who eventually won her heart although I think the love story could have been developed a little better. Loved all the supportive people in her life--family, teachers and best friend.

Downfall by Terri Blackstock

I have read all books in the Intervention series and this one is the best yet. It may even be the best Terri Blackstock novel I have read. It grabs you from the first page and you can't let go. Don't begin this book at night because you won't want to put it down until you finish. The book begins by the villian putting a car bomb until Emily's car. It is only by her brother noticing that her car is on fire that Emily escapes injury. I figured out who the bad guy was about halfway through the book. I've been reading suspense/mystery books since I was in elementary school so I've learned to figure things out. Even though I was able to ascertain who the bad guy was it still kept me in suspense not knowing what he was going to do next or who he was going to murder next. I loved all the characters. Emily was a hardcore addict two years ago and is recovering nicely even though she is tempted once. She still has not earned the trust of her mother, Barbara. Barbara frustated me many times in the book. She was so paranoid about everything. Barbara's boyfriend, Kent Harlan was a wonderful and patient man with Barbara. Barbara at times could not face the fact that Kent was a policeman and had to uphold the law. She wanted her own way. Barbara's son and Emily's little brother is the ultimate protector of women. He wants to date April and protect April even though he knows April likes to hang out with bad boys.

You will not regret spending your time reading this book. Her best yet!

Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

I started this book in the morning and could not finish until I finished the last page. I was able to connect with all the characters rather quickly. The characters were well developed. The romance in the story was sweet. Lucy and Nate were married by proxy. Nate did not even know he was married until he met his bride but he grew quickly fond of her. They did not even consummate the marriage until three months later. The storyline was suspenseful. Kept me turning until the last page.

I really do hope the author develops this book into a series. There are some secondary characters in the book that I would love to meet again. How about a storyline with Lucy's first cousin Frannie? Or even a storyline with Margaret, the lady who first had designs on Nate?

Four Stars

Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist

It took a while for me to get interested in the book but once I did get interested I was hooked. For one thing the heroine, Georgia Gail was too much into birds. Her interest bordered on obsession. The hero of the book Lucius Landrum is a well know Texas Ranger but has to go under cover as Luke Palmer in order to catch Frank Coomier an elusive robber known for robbing banks and trains. There are twists and turns in the book but I figured out one halfway through the book. I can't elaborate much on this twist because it would give it away for the reader. There is a character in this book who I would love to see Deanne Gist do a story on. It's the character of the tomboy Betina. Betina adds humor to the story and would make a delightful character in future books.

The Wedding Quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini

This is not the usual Jennifer Chiaverini book. Usually her books are in the present time or we are reading about an ancestor or those who came in contact or was influenced by the ancestors. This book fast forwards to the year 2028. All of the oldest quilters of Elm Creek such as Sylvia, Agnes and Gretchen have long since died. It is 2028 and Sarah's daughter is going to get married. The book goes back and forth with Sarah remembering events that took place between the years her twins were born to the time her daughter gets married. I can see by the reviews here that some did not enjoy a book that was in the future but I did. Some people felt that Jennifer put too much of her political opinions in the book but that didn't bother me too much. It's not more than what she has in any of her other books. The only problem I have with the book and what bothers me about a lot of her books is that she will refer to a character that we were introduced to in another book. I could not remember who Abel Wright was even though I have read all of her books. I don't personally own all of her books so I could not look up this character but just assumed he was a character from one of her three or four Civil War books. Had I know that this character would be in the book I would have checked that book out of the library. I wish she would put a family tree and a character listing on her website so we could know who was who and what time period that they were in

Inescapable (Road to Kingdom) by Nancy Mehl

I had never read any of Nancy Mehl's books until this one. This book is the first in the Road to Kingdom series. The main character Lizzie grew up in a Mennonite community with an unloving, strict and harsh father so it was not surprising when she became pregnant with a boy who showed her some attention. Of course the boy bailed on her. Rather than get an abortion like the boy's parents wanted her to do she had the baby anyway. Feeling like the pariah of her community she leaves the community and starts a new life far away from Kingdom. Everything is good in her life. She has a job she love and is working on a college degree. Everything is fine until she realizes she is being stalked and also there is a problem at work where she thinks she is going to get the blame for something criminal. She does the only thing she knows to do and that is to return to Kingdom. She reunites with her mother but the relationship with her father has not changed. He is still the harsh and unloving man that she last saw. She settles in and thinks everything is fine until she suspects that the stalker may have followed her. Will she run again or wait it out? This is a book that kept me up late at night flipping pages!

I can't wait until the next book in the series "Unbreakable" is released in 2013.