Deceived by Irene Hannon - A Book Review

               
Deceived by Irene Hannon – A Book Review

     Irene Hannon is not a new author, but she is a new-to-me author.  I will be looking for more of her books in the future.  Deceived is the third book in her Private Justice series, so books one and two in the series would be a good place for me to go next, although this book read well as a stand-alone novel.  It was very easy to follow without having the benefit of having read the first two.

     Someone recently asked on Facebook if it was even possible for Irene Hannon to write a bad book.  Well, if Deceived is any indication, the answer is a resounding NO!!!  The blurb on the back leads readers unfamiliar with Hannon’s writing thinking the book will follow a very predictable storyline, but the additional comment,  one that I didn’t attend to prior to reading the book, which referred to unexpected twists and a riveting plotline  was quite accurate.  Repeatedly I found myself questioning which way the author was going to go, and leaving many things undone as I was compelled to read on and find out.

     Kate Marshall is finally turning her life back on again after losing both her husband and son in a boating accident.  She has moved halfway across the country for a fresh start, when a chance encounter with a familiar-looking boy asking for a poppysicle turned her life upside down.  She turns to former Secret Service agent turned private investigator, Connor Sullivan, to help her decide is she is going crazy or if the impossible might just be possible.  On the path to find the answer help comes from unexpected sources, and danger increases as does hope.  Kate exemplifies what it means to trust and respect God’s sovereignty even when there is the possibility that it might contradict something about which you are passionate. 

     I thank Revell Publishers and Christian Fiction Blog Alliance for providing Deceived for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. 

Summer of Joy by Ann H. Gabhart - A Book Review

     When I was working time to read for pleasure was in short supply, so I tended to play it safe with authors I knew and loved. One of the best things about retirement is having the time to meet and spend time with authors that are new to me.  I was thrilled to spend time with Ann Gabhart in the pages of her book, Summer of Joy.  Now I was a little concerned about reading book three of The Heart of Hollyhill series without having read books one and two, but there was no need to be.  The story was easy to follow and enjoy, with just enough references to the previous books to provide necessary information and to motivate me to read those books in the future. 

     Hollyhill, Kentucky, the setting of this story, is a small town where everyone knows what is going on with everyone else.  In the 1960s it is still a town where children can safely roam free (well most of the time).  It is also a town where emotions and secrets run deep, and where they can be brought to the surface by a returning former resident as well as some new characters in  town.  It is a town that protects and nurtures its own, and those it adopts as its own.  It is peopled by those who know how to forgive, and those who don’t, and by some who don’t even realize the need.  It is a town slowly changing as the world around it changes, beginning to see the similarities more than the differences among its people, but also experiencing the accompanying growing pains.  It is a town where people are working to get a right and accurate view of themselves and of God. 

     Character development is one of the things that Ann Gabhart does best.  She fills Hollyhill with a cast of quirky characters: those that are down to earth, those that have been earthed (You’ll have to read the book to understand that one.), those with their heads in the heavens, and those whose heads may be just a bit scrambled.  As I read the thought kept coming to mind that fans of Jan Karon’s Mitford series would love Summer of Joy. David, pastor of Mt. Pleasant church, and Leigh’s romance is reminiscent of Father Tim and Cynthia’s.  Wesley Green’s stories of life on Jupiter made me want to return to Mitford and visit with Uncle Billy and some of the other eccentric characters who reside there.  They also made me want to get the first two books in Gabhart’s Hollyhill series so that I could join Wes and his young friend and surrogate granddaughter, Josie, David’s teenage daughter, on their adventures.

     I believe that Summer of Joy will appeal to a wide audience.  Young adult readers will identify with Jocie and her coming of age story.  Young wives and mothers will be touched by Tabitha and Leigh’s stories, and the love they have for those they nurture along with the insecurities they feel.  Older readers will enjoy reminiscing about a time gone by, and will be touched by the wisdom as well as the frailties that come with age.  All will enjoy the ebb and flow as Gabhart builds and releases tension as her story unfolds.  Tensions are bound to be present when the first wife, who abandoned her husband and young daughter, is headed back to town, as her former husband and his fiancé make plans.  They are bound to be present when a teacher takes an immediate dislike to one of his students, and when that same teacher sets his sights on her father’s fiancé.  Tensions mount when someone oversteps her bounds and sets off a series of events related to a past her co-worker prefers to forget.  Tensions will mount as you read this book, the kind that readers love, the kind that keep them reading. 

Thank you to Revell, the publisher, for sending me a copy of Summer Joy for my honest opinion of the book.    

Dare to Love Again by Julie Lessman – A Book Review

     When I read a book I usually form an impression of characters, and the opinions typically hold true until possibly a surprise is revealed near the book’s end.  That was not the case in Dare to Love Again.  Having read the first book in The Heart of San Francisco series, I had met the lead character in this book, Allison McClare, and remembered her as a compassionate, high spirited young lady of great faith.  In this, the second book of the series, Allison is multi-faceted.  One moment she is emotionally wounded and defensive, provoking sympathy from the reader; the next she is a spoiled, temper tantruming brat that the reader would like to take by the shoulders and shake!  There are times when she is a bright young educator, totally devoted to her job and her students, a young women yearning for independence and self-reliance.  Yet she is also capable of being manipulative, self-serving, and at times even cruel (although she eventually becomes remorseful and apologetic).  Her male counterpart possesses equally diverse character traits: handsome, harsh, humorous, easily perturbed, petulant, aggressive, honest, shady, compassionate, loving, angry, … I stayed engaged with the story in order to find out these two characters’ true character.

     One thing that I love about Julie Lessman’s books is the degree of research that goes into their historical accuracy.  Lessman is a master of weaving in interesting historical information that helps place her readers in the story’s setting. Allison’s excitement over the sites as she takes her first cable car ride causes her to take on the role of tour guide for the handsome policeman recently arrived in the city, allowing us a lens for viewing 1903 San Francisco. The horrors of life on the Barbary Coast are made evident as Allison, her mother, and her cousin work to improve the lives of the young girls who make their homes there.  By contrast Lessman paints a clear vision of the much different life among the residents of Nob Hill, the home of San Francisco’s elite.  Even the fine points of the dress and hairstyles of the day have been carefully researched and described.  The demands of morality during this time in the city’s history are clearly viewed in the lives of the McClare family, some who find them more easily met than others. The depths of debauchery, not so much different from today, are also evident in the circumstances found on the Barbary Coast, from which some in the McClare family may be profiting.  

     Trust is one of the major themes in this series of books.  The McClare women seem to be destined to having their hearts broken before finding true romance.  In the midst of these trials and heartaches, they learn the importance of trusting in God’s love, mercy and sovereignty.  They also learn the importance of trusting their hearts to men who also trust God.  I was reminded of the blessing of a husband who embraces the role of spiritual head of the household, a blessing I enjoy daily. 

      Julie Lessman is known for her ability to create sexual tension between characters while maintaining a storyline that does not compromise and using vocabulary that does not embarrass.  She has demonstrated that ability in Dare to Love Again.  While reading this book I also learned of a non-fiction book that Lessman has written in which she shares her secrests, and hopes to teach others as well.  Those reading this review who are interested in writing as well may want to check out [Romance-ology 101] Writing Romantic Tension for the Inspirational and Sweet Markets. 

In my review of Love at Any Cost I had expressed an interest in the continuing story of Caitlynn (Allison’s widowed mother) and Logan.  I was not disappointed in the way Lessman continued to develop their love story.  One of the nice things about this series is that the love story of each book’s main character is a stand-alone read with closure at the book’s end, but the story of Cait and Logan is a continuing thread throughout the series. 

     Thank you to Revell, the publisher, for sending me a copy of Dare to Love Again  for my honest opinion of the book.