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.

For Every Season by Cindy Woodsmall

For Every Season is book 3 of the Amish Vines and Orchards series.  In this book Leah is still struggling on whether or not she wants to leave the Amish.  She has a good friend in Landon and dates him some but he is not pressuring her one way or the other to leave or stay.  This is a good healthy friendship. 

Two brothers, Samuel and Jacob are interested in Rhoda romantically and this causes problems.  She has pledged her love from the beginning to Jacob but all along I was routing for Samuel.  Which one does she choose?  You will have to read to find out.  Jacob has some baggage in his life that he does not fully disclose to Rhoda.  He has different goals than Rhoda and is not always supportive of her desire to have a career in the orchards.  

This is only the third book in the series.  A new one is due out in 2014 and it's a good thing since there were a lot of things in this book that need to be explored more such as Leah's decision, a new character Iva, and the Cammile's search for a possible granddaughter.  I am looking forward to the next book so these loose ends will be tied up. 

My thanks to Librarything's Early Review Program and Waterbook for giving me a copy of this book to review.

The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks

The Longest Ride is the story of two couples worlds apart. We first get introduced to Ira, an elderly 91 year old widower. His beloved wife Ruth had died 9 years earlier. Ira should have given up driving years ago but being the stubborn man he is continues to do so. It's winter and he slides off into a ditch. Already dying with cancer he breaks several bones. Before he is rescued he has conversations with his dead wife. They recall their life together from the beginning until the day Ruth died.

The other story is of Sophia, an art major at Wake College. She had just broken up with her cheating boyfriend Brian when she meets Luke Collins, a farmer and a weekend rodeo rider. They develop a friendship that slowly turns into love but Luke is hiding a secret.

I kept wondering how in the world these two stories would converge. It was not until the last 50 pages that the stories converged and it was a doozy! Kept reading. You won't want to miss this last ride!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Some people don't like to read Nicholas Sparks novels because often his novels make you cry and have sad endings. Not so with this novel.  I give this novel  5 stars.

 

Eventide by Shelley Shepard Gray

Eventide by Shelley Shepard Gray is the third and last of the Days of Redemption series.  Ever since we were first introduced to Elsie in the first book I've been wanting to read her story.  In the first book we learn Elsie has a degenerative eye disease that will eventually take away her sight completely.  She faces this with courage but what the hardest part she has to deal with is her family smothering her to death.  They do not want her to be an independent woman.  When she meets the boy next door who takes an interest in Elsie her family tries to discourage the relationship fearing that Elsie could get hurt even more.

I felt the characters were well developed although I did get irritated with some of them at times.