Susan's Review of Tie the Knot in Good Hope--Good Hope 7-- by Cindy Kirk

Love always finds a way…

Lindsay Lohmeier’s life is no bed of roses. After struggling at a job she loved, but ultimately lost, she opened her own florist shop in Good Hope. Her budding business won’t be her only new addition. Lindsay is pregnant. While she’s happy to open her heart to her baby, opening up to the father is another story.
The last thing Owen Vaughn expected to hear was that he was going to be a father—again. He’s been down this road before and it ended in pain so devastating he thought he’d never heal. Still, he won’t abandon his child or Lindsay, the woman who--before they broke up--had been a bright spot during his darkest days.
Owen proposes, but Lindsay wants her child to grow up in a family built on love, not obligation. As they spend time together preparing for the baby, old feelings resurface. Owen encourages Lindsay to find her own way, hoping she’ll see this pregnancy has given them something special…a second chance at love.

Tie the Knot in Good Hope is Lindsay Lohmeier and Owen Vaughn’s story. I have been waiting to read this story; as their friendship was a side story in both Forever in Good Hope and Say I Do in Good Hope. I adored this second chance romance with a twist and the chance to revisit with some of my favorite Good Hope friends.

Lindsay is at a cross roads personally and professionally. Her decision not to be second best at work or in a relationship gives her the courage to fulfill her dreams of owning her own floral business and having a child. Although she loves Owen, Lindsay knows that he is grieving the loss of his young daughter and can’t see his way through his grief to love her. I admired that Lindsay stood up for herself in both situations and became a stronger person with each chapter of the novel.

Owen’s story was revealed bit by bit in the past few novels. I liked the plot choices the author chose as Owen’s story was deeply emotional and heartbreaking. Cindy Kirk chose to have this character grieve until he came to accept Mindy’s death. Owen accepted help from Fin, Lindsay and other neighbors as he sorted through his emotions and feelings.

Cindy Kirk weaves two important themes in Tie the Knot. She carefully balances Lindsay’s desire to raise her child and own her own business with Owen’s grief over the death of his daughter. Lindsay wants a marriage where she is loved and desired, not one of obligation. Owen doesn’t believe in love anymore. His first wife left him and his daughter Mindy died of a brain tumor. Owen withdrew from his friends and buried himself in his work. The baby changed the course of Owen’s life; he needed to decide if he wanted to choose his future or stay stuck in the past.

Tie The Knot in Good Hope is my favorite book in the series. I loved that Ruby Rakes and her friends Gladys and Katherine scheme to get Owen and Lindsay back together. The three senior citizens take their job very seriously and add lots of laughter to the novel. The author weaves in two marriages and plenty of small town events which allow fans of the series to catch up on their favorite characters. The poignant friends to lovers romance and importance of family and friendship make Tie the Knot in Good Hope one of my favorite novels of 2018.

Tie the Knot in Good Hope has all the feels—it’s an emotional, loving journey through heartbreak to new beginnings told with humor, honesty and compassion.

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by the Author

Cindy Kirk is a lifelong Nebraska resident who started writing after taking a class at a local community college. But her interest in the written word started years before when she was in her teens. At sixteen she wrote in her diary, “I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t be a writer.”

Not until her daughter was heading off to college did Cindy return to her first love---writing. Unlike some writers, Cindy wasn’t interested in newspaper or magazine articles, short stories or poetry. When she decided to start writing, she jumped feet first into book length fiction. She loves reading and writing romance because she believes in the power of love and in happily ever after. An incurable romantic, Cindy loves seeing her characters grow and learn from their mistakes and, in the process, achieve a happy ending.

Someone once told Cindy that to know a writer you just have to read what she's written; she hopes that once you read her books you can tell she is an eternal optimist, one who truly believes in the power of love. She invites you to kick off your shoes, pick up one of her books and get to know her. Cindy and her high school sweetheart husband live on an acreage with two dogs and two cats—Oreo--a friendly feline who loves to sit next to the computer and supervise her writing and Leo, a white devil with a raccoon-like tail.

Susan's Review of An Affair with a Spare by Shana Galen

He's turned seduction into an art form...
Rafe Beaumont, fifth son of an earl, uses his irresistible charm with the ladies to glean dangerous war secrets. Now he's putting those skills to the ultimate test: capturing an elusive assassin by seducing his daughter. The problem? She's entirely immune to Rafe's flattery.

Never before has Collette Fortier met a man as attractive as Rafe. But her father's life is at stake, and succumbing to Rafe would be disastrous. But when Rafe turns the tables on her, offering support and friendship instead of a fleeting affair, Collette finds herself tempted in ways she never could have imagined..

Rafe Beaumont is a war hero and a member of an elite group of military men who fought in the Peninsular War. The team was comprised of second and third sons of the nobility. These men were viewed as expendable and were given the most dangerous assignments; except for Rafe.

He used his good looks and sexual charms to get information from the wives and daughters of Napoleon’s generals and advisers. He’d snuck out a few bedroom windows during the war but, he’d never had a challenging assignment. Rafe is thrilled when his former commander, Lt. Colonel Draven, approaches him with a mission. His assignment? To charm information from Collette Fortier; the daughter of one of Napoleon’s assassins.

Shana Galen’s descriptive writing style adds so much to the romance between Rafe and Collette. Ms. Galen deftly provides insight into both characters during the suspense filled novel. I loved it when Rafe was exasperated by Collette. I could imagine his frustration as he’d been introduced to Collette several times. Instead of pursuing him; she is so flustered by Rafe that she starts talking to him about the mating habits of hedgehogs! Loved the honest, poignant dialogue between the couple. Through their conversations, Rafe learns about Collette’s childhood and he begins to understand her fierce loyalty to her father.

One of my favorite scenes is when Rafe and Collette hide in an empty stable to avoid a confrontation with the neighborhood watchman. Rafe admits that he cares for Collette and she admits that she may love him. Rafe is faced with a life changing decision. Could he help Collette and her father escape and commit treason? Or did he love her enough to let her go?

Shana Galen weaves a complex story in Affair With A Spare. The perfectly executed spy vs spy plot, the characters and the smart dialogue drew me into the story. Rafe and Collette’s dangerous journey kept me turning the pages. I enjoyed that both Rafe and Collette were strong complex characters—both were resilient than they appeared to be. The secondary characters of Thomas Gaines and Lady Haddington were superbly written. Shana Galen is known for her perfectly executed conclusions and Affair With A Spare does not disappoint. The ending is full of emotion, suspense and has a few surprises!

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

ARC provided by publisher

In Places Hidden by Tracie Peterson

☆☆☆☆☆

In Places Hidden

by Tracie Peterson

Tracie Peterson is a completely new author for
me. But she has written 100+ books.
This book was recommended by someone
on facebook. I am the kind of reader that perhaps
writers dislike. I totally judge a book by its cover.
And this one drew me. Isn't it beautiful?
And mysterious. Which is exactly what the story is.

Camriann Coulter is an educated and forward thinking
young woman. She has taken a long train ride to
San Francisco to find her brother, Caleb. He has
gone missing a few months ago. With no idea of
where he could have disappeared to, Camriann can only
begin. She arrives at her Calebs home with two
ladies, Kenzie and Judith. New friends she made on the
train ride. She finds the couple that care for things
at Calebs home. But they have no information.

The mystery of Calebs disappearance unravels bit
by bit. She finds a friend of Calebs. Patrick was
falsely accused of murder. Caleb, being an attorney,
helped Patrick. He is now determined to help
Calebs sister and to find Patrick. To learn the whole
story. As Camriann slowly finds out more and more
about her brother, she finds out more and more
about herself. In Places Hidden is full of a cryptic
and interesting mystery. Where has Caleb gone off
to? Was he taken? Is he hiding?

But around the mystery are other stories happening.
The three women make fast friends of each other.
Even as they are very different people. Each of them
continuously learn new things about themselves.
Kenzie, Judith and Camriann each had their own reasons
for coming to San Francisco. They all agreed to
pool their energies into finding Caleb first. Then, they
will take turns on the rest of their needs.

 
I completely enjoyed this story. I believe there will
be two more stories in the Golden Gate Secrets
story series. If you are looking for something a little
different, you may want to try one of
Tracie Petersons many books.

Review by Lisa Hutson