An Uncommon Courtship by Kristi Ann Hunter

Bethany House recently sent me a free copy of Kristi Ann Hunter's new novel, An Uncommon Courtship.  Set in England in 1814, this novel continues the saga of the Hawthorne House.  Lord Trent Hawthorne is the second son, and glad to be free of the responsibility of being the duke that his older brother must fulfill now that their father has passed away.  Both of his sisters married for love, and he wants a love story all his own, when the time is right.  However, Lady Crampton from a neighboring estate has her own plan, to somehow marry off her "in the shadows" second daughter, Adelaide to someone with money and power.  Although her plan to conveniently leave Adelaide trapped all night in an abandoned building with the duke doesn't quite work, Lord Trent is the next best option.  Not knowing it was a trap, Lord Trent investigates an visitor on their property and next thing he knows, he is saying his marriage vows to a woman he doesn't even know. Neither Lord Trent nor Adelaide know how a marriage should be or even what love is.  Adelaide only knows deception from her mother, and Lord Trent has a faint recollection of the beautiful marriage of his parents, but his father is no longer alive to answer his questions of how to truly love his wife.  Thankfully, he has godly married friends that show him the best place to go for answers is the Bible, to see how Christ loved the church as his own body, and as a model for husbands. 
Although I had never read any novels by Kristi Ann Hunter, I discovered I didn't need to because the characters in this novel can stand alone.  However because of the way Hunter developed the characters of the novel, I want to find her first 2 novels and 1 novella to read, to continue the story of the Hawthorne Family.  I love the setting and how the characters interact with each other.  The story of an inconvenient marriage has been done before, but the questions that Hunter has the characters ask and think are so real, and I love how Lord Trent and Adelaide come to learn about a Godly marriage.  Their missteps and confusion when they are first married is so sweet and pure.  I am hoping there is another novel coming to continue the story of Lord Trent's older brother Griffith .  Thank you Bethany House for sending me this story in exchange for a honest review.

For The Record by Regina Jennings

I recently received a free copy of For The Record.  As usual, Regina Jennings combines history with romantic adventure.  Set in 1885 in Pine Gap, Missouri, the novel tells of the story of Betsy Huckabee, a 24 year old "spinster" in those days, who helps her uncle with the writing and printing of the town's newspaper as well as helping with her younger cousins at home.  Tired of friends and relatives pushing single men at her in hopes of marrying her off, she concentrates on her writing, which may just be her ticket out of town.  Local crimes start occurring that the sheriff can't control, so Deputy Joel Puckett is sent in from Texas as reinforcement.  Running from rumors that could ruin his reputation as well as his career, Joel is intent on getting to the cause of the crimes that are escalating in Pine Gap, and proving that he is a true lawman.  Betsy finds the actions of Deputy Puckett exciting enough to write about, and if she adds a twist, the readers will never know that the stories are based on Joel's life.  When her first story is published in a far off newspaper, the money is too good to pass up, and so she continues with weekly sequels.  Joel finds that having Betsy along is helpful to his deputy duties.  The townspeople trust her and she knows many of the unknown town's secrets and she can be a buffer to the men that dislike an outsider coming in to try to change their town, even if it is for the better.  Betsy just hopes he will never find out her secrets, or that he is the object of her fantasies.
I found the novel slow at first.  There were a lot of names to remember, and who was related to whom.  However, by the middle, there was more action and interaction between Betsy and Joel, and my interest increased.  I like the history part of the late 1880's in the mid west.  The struggles they went through were real and I liked their communication with each other.  Regina Jennings portrayed their thoughts and feelings well. I would definitely read another historical romance by her.  This was a stand alone novel, although some of her characters were in other stories.  This free copy from Bethany House came with "no strings attached" and these opinions are all my own.