Book Review - Break My Fall

Break My Fall by Lynn H. Blackburn is a return to Gossamer Falls and our friends, the Quinn family. This time, Dr. Meredith Quinn has seen and heard too much during her trips to neighboring Neeson in her mobile dentistry van, a fact that becomes painfully obvious when she finds herself stranded on the side of the road with an empty gas tank that should have still been full. It is a good thing Chief Grayson Ward is nearby to save the day. But why is he sticking so close to Meredith, especially when he keeps pushing her away? Drugs and trafficking run rampant in the county next door, but Gray has a problem with letting crime run amok on his doorstep. Fortunately, he has allies in his fight. Unfortunately, the woman he cannot let himself love is in the crosshairs of the worst of the perpetrators. And we all know what happens to those carefully constructed walls when the people who construct them find themselves in the line of fire.

If you read Never Fall Again, you are already a member of the Gossamer Falls community and are practically a Quinn, as well. Meredith and Mo, Cal and Cassie, Donovan and Gray are our people and we know them. Of course, we also know something has got to give between Meredith and Gray. And happy dance of happy dances, we get just that in Break My Fall. Blackburn’s characters stick with you; they are vibrant and relatable, and it is easy to want good things for them. The tension is very real, both in the romance and in the action of trying to keep headstrong Meredith safe when her primary concern is taking care of others. And the romance is so sweet. Maybe I am just a sucker right now, but I think it is more likely that this book is just one of the most downright delicious romances I have read in I don’t know how long. No need to worry, though… Mo keeps it from getting too sappy. Because that is just gross. (By the way, now that my hopes for Meredith and Gray are fulfilled, i have turned my sights on Mo and Bronwyn. Someone has some explaining to do there!) I like when characters from parallel storylines converge, and I have a great appreciation for the way Blackburn weaves in some beloved characters from her other novels to give this one some extra depth. Break My Fall absolutely earns 5 stars, and also a little heart in the margin of my book tracking spreadsheet!

Break My Fall by Lynn H. Blackburn, the second book in the Gossamer Falls series, is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House    Christian Book    Amazon     Barnes & Noble    Walmart

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - The Pharisee’s Wife

It is widely accepted that Janette Oke books would be selected by readers based solely on the author’s name. After all, Oke is the origin point for many readers’ passionate journey through inspirational fiction. Her days on my must-read list stem from my early teen years, back when my grandmother purchased her novels via mail order and tried faithfully to keep up with my appetite for her clean and uplifting prose. In that spirit, I pounced on her latest release and savored it from cover to cover.

The Pharisee’s Wife unfolds methodically and in an unhurried pace, as the tale is told of a young girl who is given a high honor she does not want and must make what she will of it. Pulled from her family home and dumped into the home of a Pharisee in training who cares more for adulation than for her, Mary is then left to pick up the pieces and find her way forward when the unthinkable happens. This story of the early church is respectful and introspective. It is not surprising that the author’s note is as impactful as the novel itself. The urgency is not in the storyline, but in a decision each person must make at some point. And the climax of the story, well… Oke writes that (second) best, so you are just going to have to read The Pharisee’s Wife cover to cover to understand.

The Pharisee’s Wife by Janette Oke is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House    Christian Book    Amazon     Barnes & Noble    Walmart

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Storm Warning

Storm season in the Pacific Northwest is particularly harrowing this year, as it finds Remi Grant facing her demons and running for her life. A chance run in with a foreign physicist has made her the target of arms dealers and government operatives hungry to get their hands on the dead man’s technology. Hiding was an effective strategy until it was not. Now the winds, waves, and storms pummeling her beloved coast are just added complications as she struggles to stay alive. Hawk Beckett is also a complication; he seems to arrive at just the right time and is oddly attached to Remi, unless there is an ulterior motive. Struggling to regain her memory seems more urgent when she cannot tell who to trust. But Hawk knows a thing or two about trust; learning that his brother and his mentor are both involved in this situation with Remi in one way or another is enough to shake all he thinks he knows.

Elizabeth Goddard knows romance and suspense. Storm Warning is no exception. With characters so well developed they feel like family and settings so vivid you cannot help but feel like you are there, Goddard pulls you in and holds your attention securely through the entire story. Storm Warning is a gutsy, action packed wallop that is the first in a series I can’t wait to continue.

Storm Warning, the first book in the Hidden Bay series by Elizabeth Goddard, is available now from your favorite local bookseller or online:

Baker Book House    Christian Book    Amazon    Barnes & Noble    Walmart

Thank you to the author and publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.