A Dangerous Legacy

I really liked A Dangerous Legacy, although that may admittedly be because the male main character, Colin Bechwith, in this book was British, so every time I read from his point of view I had a British accent going in my head. Haha! I really did like Colin, though. Not only was he entertaining, but he had an interesting background and wasn't quite what the female main character, Lucy Drake, thought. Plus his personal struggles made him a much more realistic (not perfect) character.

Lucy Drake, on the other hand, is an American who works in the same building as Colin, although for a rival telegraph company. Her family feud with her uncle draws Colin into her family affairs. The one thing that did frustrate me a little was that Colin was obviously after a rich wife in America--he blatantly admits to it, even after he and Lucy clearly have a thing.

I received this book from the publisher for free; I was not required to write a review, nor a positive one.

A Love So True (Teaville Moral Society, #2)

A Love So True was good, but not particularly my favorite. I had previously read the first book in the series, and I think I preferred the first book to the second. Not that the second was by any means bad, I just personally didn't find it quite as interesting.

This book continues the series in Teaville, where Evelyn Wisely seeks to help both orphans and their mothers, many of whom are stuck in a life of prostitution. Her efforts leads here to cross paths with David Kingsman, who has his own problems with his father's business. I did like that it wasn't just about the orphans, but also about the mothers. What did drive me a lil crazy was Evelyn's secret reason for resisting David's attempted relationship with her. Personally, I thought she should have just told him instead of holding back all the way to the end of the book. But that's just me.

Overall, it was a good story, just not my favorite in the series. I received this book from the publisher for free; I was not required to write a review, nor a positive one.

Shine Like the Dawn Review

Shawn Like the Dawn was a book that I greatly enjoyed, largely due to the plot and the two main characters, Nathaniel and Maggie (although I liked Nathaniel better). A large part of the plot focuses on the "accidental" death of Maggie's parents and older sister; it doesn't take long for Maggie to come to the conclusion that their deaths were not accidental at all. This leads Maggie, and eventually Nathaniel, on a search for the truth. In the process, old secrets are dug up and revealed, bringing a dark spot to Nathaniel's family name.

My only real complaint with this story was Maggie's initial attitude toward Nathaniel. Initially, she believed that right after her family's deaths, Nathaniel had abandoned her, despite their strong childhood friendship. When she runs into Nathaniel as an adult, she still harbors a strong grudge against him for this supposed offense. However, it was her unwillingness to even explain to him why she was angry that frustrated me. Rather than at least point out why she didn't want to associate with him, she acted childish and refused to reconcile for a long time, until finally the two realized the misunderstanding that had occurred. Other than that, The plot was strong and I enjoyed the story.

I received this book from the publisher for free; I was not required to write a review, nor a positive one.

Wildwood Creek (Moses Lake, #4)

Seems like it's been a very long time since I read a book all the way through, let alone reviewed it with the busyness of planning a wedding, having said wedding, moving 1,500+ miles, and getting settled in. Despite all that and being out of the swing of it, once I arrived at my new home and began reading this book, I finished it quickly. It was an easy read for the most part. The story of Wildwood Creek is divided into two time periods--part of the book is told from the viewpoint and time period of Allie Kirkland in present day Texas, while the other part is told from the viewpoint of Bonnie Rose in 1861 Texas.

I usually like split viewpoints, with one flashing back to a past time in the same location. My only problem with this one was that some times it was difficult to get through Bonnie's chapters due language barriers. Bonnie and some of the slave characters were at times difficult to understand because of their poor grammar. Don't get me wrong, it was completely understandable and true to the time...it was just difficult to read through sometimes because it didn't flow smoothly whenever a patch of dialogue hit. Other than that, the duel time periods/characters worked pretty well to communicate the story.

I liked the story line, plot, and characters. Bonnie's chapters had an eeriness to them that made me shy away from reading it at night or when I was home alone. I did feel like the romance in the story could have been developed a bit better over a longer period of time, but it wasn't terrible. I would recommend it. I bought this book, and therefore was not asked nor required to write a review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

Delilah: Treacherous Beauty (Dangerous Beauty, #3)

I really wasn't sure what the expect when I began reading this, but it was a surprisingly good take on the biblical story of Samson and Delilah. I was glad that it did not twist the actual biblical account, but only speculated on what may have potentially gone on in the details which are not stated in the biblical narrative.

For example, the first chunk of the book is focuses largely on the events which broke Delilah and brought her to a place where she met Samson, and eventually needed him, fell in love, and betrayed him. It was interesting to see Hunt's take on what may have motivated Delilah to betray her lover--I also appreciated that in this fictional take of the true story, Delilah is shown to actually love Samson, rather than solely manipulating him purely for money. Rather, her love for her son and her need for vengeance are what bring her to the point of making the decision to betray him.

I thought Hunt did well with her take on the potential details which may have surrounded the story, and what may have motivated Delilah to do as she did. I would recommend this book in the future. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

A Heart Most Certain (Teaville Moral Society, #1)

It's been a while since I've been this emotionally invested in a book. A Heart Most Certain was an awesome novel centering around Lydia King, a morally upright woman who at first does not realize she is not helping the poor or morally astray nearly as much as she thinks she is through the activities of the town's church moral society. Co-starring the novel is Nicholas Lowe, who at first glance appears arrogant and self righteous, as well as incredibly stingy and unwilling to give to "worthy" causes.

First off, I really loved the name Nicholas. I don't know why, I just did. I guess I don't see that name very often in books, and it's an attractive name. Okay, I really just loved his whole character. Although he ended up turning out better than Lydia first thought when she met him, he still had character flaws and made mistakes, which made him realistic. Plus, they both had to work for their happy ending.

I would certainly recommend this book, and will likely read it again in the future. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.

The Little Paris Bookshop

I was kind of clashed on my opinion of this book. On the one hand, it focuses on a man who had a relationship (including sexual) with a woman who was married. While it was stated on numerous occasions that Perdu knew that the relationship should not have existed at all, I didn't feel that the book really ever condemned it or significantly resolved the wrong that had been done.

Outside of the morally wrong relationship between Perdu and his married lover, I thought the book was well written. Each character--even the secondary or briefly mentioned--was well rounded and had a story all their own. The focus of the plot, it seemed to me, was on Perdu and his journey though grief when he realizes 21 years too late that his lover did not abandon him at all, but rather died with the entire story untold to him merely because he refused to read her parting letter.

It's a sad story, but not the kind that makes you cry--more like the kind that makes you feel super mellow and maybe a bit depressed. And rather frustrated over the amount of sex involved in the story. If I were to recommend this book, it would most certainly be to adults due to the relationship dynamics. I received a free copy of this book from the publisher for this review. These opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review, nor was I compensated for this review.