Book Review: On the Line: A Second Chance Sports Romance by Julia Connors

Written in first person, On the Line: A Second Chance Sports Romance by Julia Connors is the fourth installment of her Frozen Hearts series.  Set in Park City, Utah at the start and finishes in Boston, Massachusetts, the story traces the saga of professional figure skater turned marketing expert and stay at home mom, Lauren Manning-Emerson and professional ice hockey player turned sports agent, Jameson Flynn.  From start to finish, the read moves like a saga, though it is meant to be a cozy modern romance.  The reader experiences all the emotions that go through someone in a lifetime with just this single story.

The hero and heroine each have multiple layers to their characters, supported by strong family ties and good friends.  Connors takes the readers through the trials and tribulations of these characters, building a bond between the readers and these characters.  Their ordeals and the human strength they share with the audience is enlightening.  Granted, sometimes, Flynn seems too good to be true, and other times, Emerson seems to be over-reacting to unsuspecting surprises.  Still, the window into these lives resonates a realistic vibe.

Readers can discern Connors created a story that she put a great deal of thought into, applying care and attention to the details of the characters circumstances and situations.  Connors is an effective author in hooking the reader and keeping the story engaging.

Julia Connors

Book Review: Miracle on Chance Avenue by Jane Porter

Modern romance author Jane Porter skillfully extrapolates the tumultuous emotions of her characters, articulating their thoughts, their conflicting feelings, and the choices available to them.  Her contemporary romance Miracle on Chance Avenue, the second book in her Love on Chance Avenue series has the reader celebrating her characters triumphs and lamenting their losses.

The moments of conflict, tension, and resolution have an authentic feel to them, which makes the story endearing and enduring for readers.  A story that readers will keep with them through life, in other words.

The hero and heroine are their own protagonists and antagonists.  Bull rider Rory Douglas is realtor Sadie Mann's object of affection from afar.  She is a puzzle that Rory strives to unravel, and he is her deepest veiled fantasy.  

Day by day the two get to know each other, tightening the bond of love between them while also angering each other with their self-doubts and fears.  Nobody gets between them except themselves.

The present is interjected with scenes from their past, both having grown up in Marietta, Montana.  In their youth, their paths ran parallel and only crossed when Douglas drives his little sister MacKenna to Sadie's birthday party when the two girls are each 13 years old. 

That same night, Douglas returns to the family's home ranch to find his parents brutally murdered along with his baby brother Gordon and baby sister Grace.  Tormented by the sight, he closes the ranch and raises his teenage sister MacKenna and surviving brother Quinn on his own, earning a living on rodeo tours, riding bulls while his siblings attend college.  

Douglas returns home to convalesce after being injured by a raging bull during the American Extreme Bull Riding Tour.  His homecoming at Christmastime is meant to be short until he sees Sadie Mann, recalling her in the audience at several of the tour's shows.

Raised by a single mom, Mann earns a living as a flight attendant until she returns home to look after her mother.  Back in Marietta, she takes a part-time job in a real estate office while working on her small business, Montana Rose, making personalized products for the home.  

After her mother passes away, Mann becomes aware that she is alone and in her mid-thirties with no child.  As her biological clock is ticking, she embarks on the path to have a baby by in vitro fertilization.

Douglas and Mann link together at a moment in their lives when they each answer the other one's call for comfort, stability and a new chapter of adventure in their lives.  Porter weaves a well crafted contemporary romance centered around a plot that simply unravels entangling emotions.  As grave as the characters plight is, Porter sows in slits of humor and quick wit into the dialogue that makes the story easy to consume.

The reader may not anticipate the story being endearingly enthralling with simply two characters carrying the scenes but Porter manages this task, taking the simple route.  The story's charm is its simplicity, showing that wrestling with emotions is all a plot needs to engage the reader.

https://janeporter.com/

 

Book Review: Like the Break of Dawn by Bree Wolf

Historical romance author Bree Wolf puts a new spin on the time travel theme in her novel Like the Break of Dawn, the first installment in her Lass of Legend saga.  Dovetailing a Romeo and Juliet style romance into the time travel tale along with interlocking Fey lore, Wolf certainly whets the reader's interest to seek out the following books in the series.

The story begins with Yvaine, a little girl, found by Aiden MacKinnear and his son Duncan, beaten and bruised and left in the wilderness of Scotland's highlands.  The year is 1801.  Wolf takes the reader on a deep dive into Yvaine's well articulated and documented introspections, self-discoveries and conflicting emotions, opening the path for readers to develop an emotional bond with Yvaine.  The writing is very effective, ensconcing Yvaine's fate into the reader's care.

So when the story takes a turn and transports Yvaine into 1401 through a hidden cavern, the reader's feelings plummet, experiencing every trial and tribulation that Yvaine goes through.  Except, the time travel takes Yvaine back in time to when she was born and back to her birth family.  

Yvaine learns it had been a fey who saved her life, taking her to 1801, into the safe arms of the MacKinnear family.  Then at 16 years old, the fey takes her back to her time of 1401 to help mend the family feud between her birth father, the MacLeòir chieftain and his enemy, the MacCarmaig chieftain.

In the vane of Romeo and Juliet, Yvaine, a MacLeòir, and Caelen, a MacCarmaig, fall in love.  The entanglements grow more complex as both clans have maidens to marry the Morganach chieftain.  Yvaine from the MacLeòir's and Gwyneth, Caelen's little sister, from the MacCarmaig's.  Thus, the animosity between the two clans is inflamed, making for an entrenching read.

Wolf immerses the reader into the fate of Yvaine and Caelen, as well as offering a budding romance between Gwyneth and Fergus, Caelen's good friend and fellow warrior.  Combining elements of adventure, heroism, and Fey lore, the reader becomes entwined in unfolding Wolf's historical fantasy romance.  This book leaves the reader with a cliffhanger, teasing the reader to learn of Yvaine and Caelen's fate in follow up story By the Grey Light of Morning.

https://www.breewolf.com/

Book Review: The Duke of Deceit by Anna Harrington

Anna Harrington's Regency romance The Duke of Deceit, the second installment in her The Dukes of Darkness series, takes time to find the goodness in the main characters, Jessamyn St. Clare and Lucien Grenier, the Duke of Crewe.  Several of the beginning chapters make St. Clare and Grenier far from being inspiring characters.  

St. Clare is exceedingly annoying in her machinations to irritate Grenier by reversing his rakish image to make him appear altruistic in public.  All in an effort to force him into marrying her sister, whom she mistakenly believes impregnated her younger sibling.  Grenier, on the other hand, is equally irritating, insisting on exacerbating his exploits and flaunting them.  

Midway into the story, and it takes that long to see goodness in these two characters, secrets are revealed.  Secrets that the two used as shields to guard themselves from factions of society that would hurt them.  Rendering each other ineffectual to take care of themselves and their loved ones.  

Not until this point do the two characters incite the reader's sympathy.  A desire to see these two tortured souls find absolution and happiness.  St. Clare needing to be free from feeling that she pushed her father away, and Grenier needing to be free from cheating his older brother Phillip of the dukedom.

When the reader feels like there is nothing good to discover from these two characters, continuing further returns with a rewarding resolution, sharing techniques that are applicable to real life troubles.  This is one story where the answers to real life obstructions and dilemmas can be found in a work of fiction.

https://www.annaharringtonbooks.com

Book Review: A Touch of Steele by Cathy Maxwell

A Touch of Steele, Cathy Maxwell's latest installment in her Gambler's Daughters series builds up steadily and perceptively to a clenching climax that keeps the reader on tenterhooks, coming to a satisfying happily-ever-after at its conclusion.  Set in Regency England at the close of the Napoleonic Wars, a gambler's daughter, Gwendolyn Lanscarr and former British soldier and recent shipping mogul, Beckett Steele, find themselves entangled in a dangerous game of family rivalry and survival.

Steele, desiring to find his family after being abandoned in a brothel as a little boy, and Lanscarr, desiring to find a partner in love, a partner to share life's adventures, and a partner whose unwavering loyalty will last her a lifetime, come together with the assistance of destiny's hand but their insecurities keep them apart.  The reader is taken along the couple's journey, watching them wrestle with conflicting emotions and struggle with family members and peers, who put doubts in the couple's minds.  

The duplicity of several characters mirror real life, leaving the audience wondering who is honest and who is not.  Who can the couple trust and who is deceiving them.  Even plotting to kill them.  The reader plays the role of spectator, a voyeur watching the couple's relationship develop, aware of moments when the two may separate forever.

Maxwell does alot of telling of the story, missing the chance to engage the reader emotionally, which keeps the audience outside the story.  Though she will skim over back stories and rush through some scenes, the twists and turns in the story are enough to hold the reader's interest until the end.  Maxwell's novel is a gratifying read that passes the time away quickly when waiting for someone or something.  It's a rewarding down time read.

Book Review: Potions, Poisons, and Peril by Shea MacLeod

Witches, djinns, warlocks, and sorcerers are some of the characters that author Shea MacLeod uses as fodder for her romantic suspense Potions, Poisons, and Peril.  Her story stirs the imagination while holding her reader enthralled.  A suspenseful page turner, definitely.  A thought provoking read, undoubtedly.  A story one will return to and find something new each time through, unquestionably.  

MacLeod's writing style is comfortable, using good natured humor and a modern tone though the main characters are several decades old, even several centuries old like in the case of the hero Noah Laveau, a thaumaturga or sorcerer, described to be relatable to Camelot's Merlin.  The heroine, Emory Chastain is a resilient and resolute witch whose coven of three, she and her friends Veronique (Veri) and Lene are modern day do-gooders.  Each with a past riddled with hardships, trauma and struggles.  MacLeod skillfully projects distinct identities for each character that entertains the reader, as well as making each figure relatable to real life personalities minus their individual paranormal abilities. 

Set in a quaint small town called Deepwood with a cozy commercial main street lined with specialty boutiques and restaurants, life seems mundane until a man comes into Emory's shop and drops dead.  In her assessment, he died from a potent spell designed to control him.  Each page delivers a new surprise as more residents go crazy, irrational, erratic, and violent.  It is Veri's cousin Noah who provides the biggest surprise while he helps Emory untangle the  befuddling events.

Potions, Poisons, and Peril is a delightful read, satisfying the audience's need for a story that entertains as well as stimulates the mind.  Being the first installment in the Deepwood Witches Mysteries, Shea MacLeod whets the readers appetite to want to discover more.

 

Visit:  https://www.sheamacleod.com

Book Review: How To Fall For A Scoundrel by Kate Bateman

How to Fall for a Scoundrel, the second installment in Kate Bateman's series Her Majesty's Rebels, is an easy read, both entertaining and mysterious.  Set in Regency England, three friends, Eleanor "Ellie" Law, Daisy Hamilton, and Tess Townsend, the Dowager Duchess of Wansford, form a private investigation firm called King & Co.  Much like the TV series Remington Steele, Charles King, the head of the firm, does not exist.  The three women made him up to give their firm credibility.  However, a mysterious gentleman steps into Ellie's life and assumes the role of Charles King.  The similarities between the TV program and Kateman's tale stops there.

Bateman weaves an intriguing story around the man playing Charles King.  He is a thief, a playboy, a high stakes gambler, and the Earl of Cobham.  At least, once he can prove his inheritance and take his rightful position in society.  In the center of the tale is a charismatic Englishman, who meets an intelligent English maiden, who inspires him to become an honest man. Their romance is charming and pulls the reader to cheer for their union.  The writing is smooth and the pace of the story keeps the reader engaged.  

How to Fall for a Scoundrel follows the first book in the series, Second Duke's the Charm, featuring Tess.  Book three in the series will focus on Daisy and the entanglements of her happily ever after story.