With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin

Mellie Blake just doesn't fit in.  She grew up in foreign places with her father and never learned to make friends.  Tom MacGilliver's father was a killer and he was never able to make more than superficial friendships because of his parentage.  Tom and Mellie begin to exchange letters anonymously and soon find that their friendship helps them grow in their areas of weakness.  Mellie is a source of encouragement for Tom who doesn't know how to lead his men without being abusive.  Tom teaches Mellie how to open up to friendship and gives her a safe place to share her fears.

Eventually they are stationed near each other and Mellie discovers who Tom is.  However, Mellie is plagued with the fear and conviction that she is unattractive and that Tom would be disappointed if they should ever meet.  Will they ever be able to overcome the obstacles that keep them apart?

This book is a must read.  I have read a few horrible books lately and this is definitely the opposite of that!  The setting was great!  Beginning with Mellie's training in the US to the transfer to upper Africa, the setting added to the story.  I also enjoyed learning about Mellie and Tom's respective jobs as it added a richness to their love story.

What do you need as a prospective buyer to purchase this book?  Great characters?  Check.  Great setting?  Check!  Great plot?  Check!!  This is definitely a buy.  I can't wait for the next book.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Against The Tide by Elizabeth Camden

I want to read every book that Elizabeth Camden writes!  She is able to create complex characters that draw you in right from the start.

Lydia Pallas grew up on the boats that her immigrant parents owned until the day they never returned for her after school.  Although Lydia never hears from them she is secure in their love and the belief that they would never have left her unless they had perished.  The rest of her childhood was spent in a loveless orphanage.  When Lydia matures she obtains a job as a translator for the navy.  This gives her a sense of security as she goes about her work on her pristine desk and then home to her comfy home and predicable life.

Enter Alexander Bainbridge, a man who is more Adonis than human, who disrupts Lydia's life and draws her into adventures of intrigue.  'Bane' is complex himself, having been stolen as a child he became a drug lord of sorts and since he became a Christian he has been trying to atone for his crimes of trafficking opium.  When he meets Lydia, he feels that he has found the other half of his heart, but he can not allow himself to act upon the attraction he feels for her.  His powerful former captor is still trying to kill Bane who is... the bane of his existence (pun intended) and he can not risk Lydia in his battle.

What this story boils down to is: great characters and a plot that compels you to read until the end!  I loved this book as I loved her other book The Rose of Winslow Street.  I can't wait until her next book comes out!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  

Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

This was a hard book to read.  Silas comes to the Lee household as an apprentice blacksmith.  He is unaware that he is expected to marry one of Liege Lee's daughters.  The despicable Elspeth has been 'given' Silas and she begins her campaign to woo Silas, but Silas is drawn to the gentleness in Eden.

The characters in this book are awful!  Eden is weak and lets everyone walk all over her.  Elspeth is so vile that I would not read a book if it was about her.  The father, Liege is a bitter and verbally abusive man and his wife is a spineless, voiceless coward.  The only redeeming character in the book is Silas; he has strength, compassion and ambition.

Not only are the characters horrible, but the plot is depressing.  It was painful watching the disfunction of this abusive family as darkness and evil are unfurled.  Just when you think light might enter the story, Eden's nephew is murdered and she is raped.  Only the last few chapters have any redeeming quality to them.

Boring and painful!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Over The Edge by Mary Connealy

I just love a book that starts with a bang and keeps on going!  Callie is on her way to find her abandoning husband to shoot him when her stage coach is attacked.  Callie, being the tough Texas girl that she is, sends her baby out the back door with the preacher and his wife so that she can fight the outlaws and give her baby a chance to get out of this disaster alive.

Enter Seth, an injured and mostly crazy man; he can't remember getting married.  When he comes upon the stage coach and a bloody Callie, he almost loses his head when Callie starts shooting at him.  Callie is furious, but now that he's met his beautiful wife again he wants to make his marriage work.  Being abandoned with a baby on the way wounded Callie and she isn't convinced that Seth won't do that to her again.  She determines not to let Seth out of her sight until she can trust him not to run off again.  She isn't going to have a 'real' marriage again either until she can trust Seth not to hurt her.

There is also the matter of the stolen diamonds that continue from the previous two books in this series...  Can Callie and Seth overcome his mental issues and her trust issues in spite of the danger swirling around them?

Mary Connealy is one of my favourite authors for a reason!  She's funny and she knows how to grab your attention in a hurry and keep it.  I have read 12 of her books and have loved them all!

To Love and Cherish

Melinda is and excellent choice for a lady's maid.  Having grown up in the demanding world of the elite socialites, Melinda knows how to placate her demanding lady Mrs. Mifflin making herself invaluable.  What Melinda doesn't know how to do is make her expectations for marriage clear to Evan who is her beau on Bridal Veil.  Melinda and Evan separate for the season as each work their different jobs.

Evan wants to marry Melinda, but he holds off until he can get a promotion and support her as he feels is necessary.  When a hurricane hits the island in her worry Melinda rushes to the island to find out what happened to Evan and hopes to finally tie the knot despite the fact that everything is in a shamble.  Of course things happen to keep them apart and make them doubt the other's devotion...

Evan is a pretty dense fellow in my opinion.  That he couldn't understand Melinda's hopes for marriage and explain his position is ridiculous.  Melinda herself had some unreal expectations and I found that she annoyed me.  Despite the fact that their was a hurricane and then intrigue near the end of the book, I found this read to be plodding.    

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.   Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".  

Mary Magdalene by Diana Wallis Taylor

Who is Mary Magdalene?  She is a woman who was possessed by seven demons.  Imagine living with that!  Mary is kidnapped as a girl and is never the same after that.  She is afflicted with an illness that her parents cannot get treatment for.  Everywhere she goes she is called Mad Mary and she despairs of ever getting married and having a family.  Mary's story follows her through her debilitating illness, her healing at the hand of Jesus, and then her following of Jesus in his ministry.

I thought the author did a fair job of showing what it was like to live with demons in your person, but I never really felt the terror that Mary must have felt.  However, it was very thought provoking for me when Mary left Magdala to follow Jesus.  It had never crossed my mind that Jesus also had women with him and not just the disciples.  I was also mesmerized with the story of Jesus's faithful followers when he was crucified.  How the disciples and his other followers such as Mary would have grieved.  It was a confusing and heartrending time for them.

This is exactly the type of book that makes you examine your relationship with Jesus as you insert yourself into history.  It fills in the blanks of Mary's story as well and brings her to life.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Whispers in the Wind by Lauraine Snelling

In the first book of this series, Cassie Lockwood left the Wild West Show where she had performed and lived her whole life.  Because of her 'uncle's' mismanagement of the show, Cassie is left with only her father's gypsy type wagon and a couple friends.  The story continues in the second book with Cassie arriving at the ranch she owns half of.  She and the Engstrom's try to figure out how it will all work out between them.

The mother Mavis is very welcoming because she has always known that a Lockwood might come back to claim their share of the ranch.  Mavis' son Ransom, however, had no such warning and he is having a difficult time even being civil to Cassie.  On the other hand, the other son Lucas figures that he is in love with Cassie.

Cassie has her own worries.  She has no where else to go and has formed a family with the friends that she brought with her.  Worry is her constant friend as she attempts to forge a home for her family and support them financially.  Will Cassie finally have the home she desires?

I liked the idea of this book, but I find that it is sloooowww.  The most exciting part of the series was at the beginning of the first book when the author describes Cassie life and act in the Wild West Show.  After that the series so far has moved at a snail's pace.  I wish the author would inject more humor and more of Cassie's riding skills into her story.  Perhaps I would enjoy the book more if she did.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.  Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".