Whispers in the Reading Room by Shelley Gray

Whispers in the Reading Room is book 3 in the The Chicago World's Fair Mystery series by Shelley Gray.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and could not put it down. I was intrigued by the pairing of two opposite people. Sebastian was a wealthy man who made his living running a gambling establishment. He was ashamed of his background being  the illegitimate son of a prostitute. Lydia is a librarian whose family has fallen on hard times. Her family had once been well off and now she struggles to make ends meet. Her spoiled mother wants to marry her off to someone not worthy of her so she can continue to live the lifestyle she once enjoyed. So these two people are totally different but they share a love of books and that is what brings them together. I could not put this book down because I wanted to see how this relationship was going to pan out.  There are some secondary characters that I enjoyed as much as the main characters.  These were the two employees of Sebastian Marks.

There is a murder midway in the book but there really isn't that much of a mystery in the book. If you are buying this book because you think it will be a great suspense book you will be disappointed. It was a great book but suspenseful it was not. The mystery played a minor role in the story.

I was pleased with the ending of this book and did not want it to end.  I was given an e-copy of this book to read compliments of  Netgalley and Zondervan.

Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade

At first I didn't like Ty Porter. After all he did abandon Celia after one night of marriage and after he consummated the marriage bed. He really did hurt her the next morning saying he loved another woman, Tawny. And what kind of name is Tawny? Sounds like a stripper name. Anyway he said that he had loved Tawny every since kindergarten. And when he reconnects with her nearly five years later he is irrated to learn that she kept from him the existence of a daughter. He's a bull rider and has an accident and returns to his hometown. He finally convinces Celia to move to Texas so he could be around his daughter more. Even then he still has hopes for Tawny but she is dating a doctor. But as the story progresses I grew more fond of Ty and came to really like him in the end as his love for Celia grew. He did so much for her and sacrificed a lot for her. She has a hard time trusting him but I really couldn't blame her since he had hurt her so much in the past.

Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

I had a hard time identifying with Meg Cole. After all she was filthy rich and I'm not. I did love her character. She was thrust into the role of managing her father's empire after his unexpected death. She must preferred a simplier life. She even choose to love in the guest house on the estate instead of the mansion. I liked it that she had a strong faith. She didn't get this strong faith from her parents or their family but from her beloved nanny who took her to church every Sunday. I couldn't stand any of her extended family, the uncles, aunts and cousins. They had their nose so stuck in the air that it touched the ceiling. The only cousin of hers that I like was a male cousin, Brimm. I liked it that Meg decided to use her fortune to help those less fortunate than herself. Early in the book she decides to help an single mother get on her feet. The romance between her and Bo was sweet but she had been burned in the past by someone who wanted to be with her for her money so she had a hard time trusting men. I loved the character of Bo Porter. He was the ideal man and I saw basically no flaws with his character. He was almost too perfect. I can't wait to read the stories featuring his other siblings.

Among the Fair Magnolias (Four Southern Love Stories)

Among the Fair Magnolias is a collection of four novellas but the authors Tamera Alexander, Shelley Gray, Dorothy Love and Elizabeth Musser.

A Heart So True by Dorothy Love - Pretty good. I felt sorry for the character that she was being forced to marry a distant cousin by her manipulating father. Her father seemed to be more concerned about his political aspiration than the happiness of his daughter.


 To Mend a Dream by Tamera Alexander  - I enjoyed this novella. I have read Tamera's works before and she is an excellent writer and this book is no exception; however I did think the romance part of the story was a little rushed at the end. She needed more pages to develop the storyline. This story would have been better in a longer format instead of a novella. The author stated that the character was introduced in the book "To Win Her Favor" which will be.released.May 2015.  

 Love Beyond Limits by Elizabeth Musser - I did not enjoy this story at all, a complete snoozefest. I thought the character was a little self-centered. She threw herself on a man she could never have not even considering she was endangering his life.

 An Outlaw's Heart by Shelley Gray -  This was my favorite of all three.  Last year when I read "A Texan's Choice" there was a character in there that had a backstory and I wondered what happened to him. I reviewed that book and even stated that I wondered what happened to Russell and if he was even able to connect back with the woman he left behind in his hometown. In this book we find out. I was so excited.

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

Justified by Varina Denman

Justified is book 2 of the Mended Hearts series. After the weekend I read Jaded and when I finished Jaded I just had to read Justified which focuses on Fawn Blaylock. In the first book she was the spoiled daughter of the rick cattleman, Neil Blaylock. Toward the end of the first book Fawn had just told her parents that she was pregnant and was promptly kicked out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back. Neil Blaylock was a hypocritical Christian from the first book. He was a so called pillar of the Trapp, Texas church.  In this book we saw all the townspeople from the first book. In the first book I didn't care much for Lynda Turner but in this book she softens up quite a bit. She's still cynical but a little smoother on the edges. I loved Ruthie in this book. She is so down to earth and helped Fawn adjust to being poor. The toxic church from the first book is back and is a little better now that Neil Blaylock is no longer an elder but still has people in there who gossip and look down their noses at people who fall from grace but that is typical of any church.  And then there is the biological father of Fawn's baby Tyler Cruz. Fawn does not know if she should be with the baby's father. She thinks a baby should have both a mother and a father but Tyler has let her down several times. He's cheated on her, denied paternity and even slapped her around yet she takes him back six times. Will there be a 7th?  There is a growing friendship with JohnScot. At first he was there for her to help her out but the more time he spent with her he began to see the good in her that she did not see in herself.  The main problem with Fawn is that she kept putting herself down. She knows God has forgiven her for her past mistakes but finds it hard to forgive herself.

I highly recommend that you read Jaded first before you read Justified. You will enjoy the story more if you know some of the backstory of some of the other characters.

At the end of this book I got to read the first four chapters of the next book Jilted. This book will focus on Linda and Clyde. I'm looking forward to this one and have put it on my to be read list.

Thanks to David C. Cook and Netgalley for providing me an e-copy to read and review. Justified is due for release on June 2, 2015

A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer

I have enjoyed everything by Karen Witmeyer so far and she did not disappoint me with this one. The character had a lot of spunk and committment to her little adopted family. I liked it that she was very protective of her charges. The first half of the book we get acquainted with Charlotte, the three kids in her charge and Stone, the man hired by Lily's grandfather to bring the child back to him. Lily's mother knew she was dying so before she died she requested that Lily be raised by Charlotte. As Stone spent time with Charlotte he comes to realize that the child belongs with Charlotte.  About midway in the book the pace picks up and never lets up until the end.  I like reading a book that keeps me on edge and this one did not fail in this respect. This book had its share of bad guys. There's Lily's grandfather who only wants the child to advance his riches and then there is Franklin the other tracker the grandfather hired when Stone did not follow through. Franklin is just evil through and through.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House Publishers for providing me an e-copy of this book to read and review. A Worthy Pursuit is due to be released on June 2, 2015.

A Heart's Obsession by Colleen Coble

A Heart's Obsession is book 2 in the Journey of the Heart series by Colleen. To get the full enjoyment of this series you really should read them in order. Each book is a short read. When we last saw Sarah Montgomery she had stayed behind at her home instead of following Rand out west. She stayed behind because her father was dying and Rand was not willing to wait. I am not liking Rand much at all in this series. He goes out west and within 2 months and beguiled by a woman at the post and becomes engaged to her. Sarah father eventually dies so she goes out west only to learn that Rand is engaged. Rand is less than warm to her at first meeting. I am hoping in the next book he can redeem himself since he is not willing to break up with the beautiful and conniving Jessica Dubois. I am really liking the character of Sarah Montgomery. She has a real concern and love for the native American people.

I am looking forward to the next book. This series would be better if it were one big book instead of broken down into short novels.