Wind Chime Cafe by Sophie Moss

Wind Chime Café

by Sophie Moss

I came across this story on my kindle. Do you ever

do that? Just see a story somewhere and feel drawn to

read it? Even if you don't know the author? Or have any

connection to it?
That's how this was. I have never read Sophie Moss.
But I felt like I just had to read it.
Thank goodness!
It has been a wonderful, heart touching, demanding,

real life, emotional story. The characters were

wildly diverse. And still, came together beautifully.

I could not wait from moment to moment to find

out what was going to happen.

Annie Malone is a single mom. She is not always

lovable. She has a lovely eight year old daughter,

Taylor. Taylor is in an emotionally fragile place.

Sometimes, Annie puts people off in the process of

protecting Taylor. But she is putting everything on the

line on Heron Island to make a new, safe,
comfortable life for the two of them.

Will Dozier is a Navy Seal trying to get

a hold of his own life. He grew up here on

Heron Island. But he has not been home for

10 years. He is being forced to be here to take

care of his grandparents homestead. And do it

in such a way that it stays true to their memory.

Taylor and Will have everything in common.

Even though she is an 8 year old girl and he is

a grown man and Navy Seal. The emotions everyone

in this story goes through are written so well. They will

all settle deep in your heart. You will picture

the diner and the beach. You will hear the wind

chimes. You will feel the children in their pure

happiness and then in desperate fear.

Its been some time since I read a story that has

touched me so much. There are no slow times. Its

not all hard. But it flows and moves along steady.

I really loved this story.

Review by Lisa Hutson





Secrets on the Sand by Roxanne St Claire

Secrets on the Sand

by Roxanne St Claire

This is Book One of the

Barefoot Bay Billionaires series.

The kindle version of this one is free.

Zeke (Ezekiel the Geekiel) Nicholas does

not recall his high school years fondly. Though

there was one good memory. One memory he has

held onto all these years. All the years he has spent

using his "geekiel" talents to become a billionaire.

Mandy (Mandy the Magnificent) Mitchell had a very

different high school experience. She was the popular

one. The girl everyone knew and wanted to be around.

Sadly, Mandy does not remember herself being
the nicest of people.

Turns out Mandy was nicer than she thinks.

Frankie Cardinale was a freshman at Mimosa High

back in Mandys time. Mandy was kind to her and

Frankie has never forgotten. Mandy was also very

nice to Zeke, which is the one good memory he

has from high school.

Then, cut to the time of the story. Mandys life has

taken a series of turns she did not see coming. Now, she

finds herself working as a maid in her hometown.
There are people from her school days that never want

her to forget how easy her Mimosa High time was.

Zeke finds himself staying at the Barefoot Bay resort that

Mandy works in. He cant believe his luck when she comes

to his villa door. Loaded with cleaning supplies. To him,

she is still the most beautiful, desireable woman he has

ever seen.
Mandy wants to earn a new better life for herself. She

wants to work and make it happen. She has plans for

her own cleaning business.

Both Zeke and Mandy know how it feels to be kicked

when you are down. They have issues with trust and

self confidence.

Kinda makes you think they would be the

perfect couple, doesn't it? Can she let down her guard?

Can money buy happiness?

This is one of my favorite story types. One is a good

person. Who is poor. One is a good person that's rich.
Roxanne St Claire has written a fun,
 romantic believable story. I enjoyed it.

And I look forward to the rest of the series.

I got my kindle copy from Amazon.
Review by Lisa Hutson





Life, Love and Babies Series by Samantha Chase

I loved each of the novellas in Samantha Chase’s Life, Love and Baby series. Each story has a sweet couple, an engaging story and can be finished in one sitting.

The Baby Arrangement
Kayleigh Mitchell agrees to help her boss Derek Sloan care for a baby that was dropped off at his office. I am not a huge fan of the office romance trope but this sweet story is quite heartwarming. The characters are likeable and the plot moves along at a good pace. Kayleigh and Derek bond as they care for baby Emery and learn what the word ‘family” truly means.

Baby, I’m Yours
Nikki and Josh’s story was my favorite of the three novellas. Nikki celebrates the end of her college education by going out to a bar with friends. She meets a handsome man named Tyler and has a one night stand with him. The fast paced story takes place three years later and the characters are well written. Samantha Chase has the knack for taking an often used storyline (in this case the “surprise baby’ dilemma) and making it her own by creating wonderful characters who are challenged to work through every day issues. I appreciated that the author portrayed Nikki as an independent woman and loving mother. I enjoyed reading the scenes when Josh (aka Tyler) recognizes Nikki and realizes that her daughter maybe his child. I wish this novella had been a full length story as both the main and secondary characters were well developed and the storyline touched each character.

Baby, Be Mine

Olivia had a huge crush on her brother’s best friend Jake in high school. She returns to her hometown for a month long vacation. Her brother Mike convinces her to help Jake care for his new born twins. Olivia’s vacation plans didn’t include babysitting but she agrees to help. Jake  and Olivia disagreed about everything at first and then learned to talk things through and work together. The story's ending surprised me and was perfect for this couple.

It's Valentines week and......

If you are in the mood for three sweet contemporary novellas—pick up these stories!

Reviewed By Susan Gorman 

ARC provided by Sourcebooks

Graphic from Samantha Chase