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!