Now & Forever by Mary Connealy

Book 2 of the Wild at Heart series is available.  Bethany House sent me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.  I love the adventure in Mary Connealy's novels!  Shannon is the middle sister of the Wilde family.  She is raising sheep on her own homestead. After being in the wrong place at the wrong time, she finds herself forced to marry Matthew Tucker to save her reputation. Tucker is a mountain man, preferring to be alone in the wilderness for months at a time.  Raised by an Indian woman, he knows how to track animals and people, but is unsure how to treat his new wife.  They find themselves teaming up together against a greedy man who wants Shannon's homestead. Connealy provides action and mystery in her novel, and I love how she includes characters from Book 1.  Being someone who loves the outdoors and 1860's time period in the west, I enjoyed Shannon's story.  Shannon is brave and loyal and learned she can trust God for her future!

A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

Becky Wade's series involving the Porter Family continues on with the story of Jake Porter.  Jake is a former Marine who is back home in Texas training Thoroughbreds with his brothers.  He is also suffering from PTSD  and prefers to spend his days alone.  As a child Lyndie James was more than just his neighbor she was his best friend. He was fiercely protective of her then and that hasn't changed.  When Lyndie moves back to Texas and starts exercising horses for Jake, the closeness they once shared returns.  But Jake doesn't feel whole; he has scars inside and out.  He has given up on God and is fearful of something happening to Lyndie. Jake wonders how Lyndie can be so carefree.  Lyndie knows she can help Jake, but he has to be willing. I loved this novel just as I did the first two.  I felt like I was living in Texas with Lyndie and Jake.  The military flashbacks associated with PTSD were so real and the side plot with Amber trying to find Mr. Right was incredibly funny.  There were parts that continued on with Bo and Ty Porter from the previous novels but you didn't have to read them to understand the plot.  The ups and downs Lyndie had with caring for a physically challenged sister was real-life too.  Thanks Bethany House for sending this novel for me to review.

Favorite Quote from Melissa Tagg

Favorite Quote from Melissa Tagg's From The Start novel:

"Pastor Nick told me a while back that I didn't have to have a big plan for my life.  I just needed to do the next right thing."

From The Start by Melissa Tagg

Having read one other novel by Melissa Tagg, I couldn't wait to read From The Start.  I enjoyed Kate and Colton's story from the very first chapter.  Kate Walker is a movie screenplay writer that doesn't believe in a fairy-tale ending anymore.  She is busy with her career in Chicago when a tornado strikes her hometown in Iowa and she must go home to help her dad and siblings. Former NFL quarterback Colton Greene is trying to find purpose in his life after his football career abruptly ends with an injury. When his former college roommate, who is Kate's older brother, suggests getting away to Iowa to help the town re-build after the tornado, Kate and Colton's lives collide and the sparks fly!  When they find that others in the town, like a high school boy in the foster system and a struggling coffee shop owner, need help that only they can give, Kate and Colton find their lives going in a new direction. But first they need to let go of the past hurts. 
I absolutely loved this book!  Reminding me of stories by Susan May Warren or Karen Kingsbury, I finished the book hoping there would be others to continue on in the series. The characters, especially Kate's siblings, were so real-life to me that I kept wishing I lived in their town.  I loved how the past hurts that Kate and Colton had experienced helped them assist others with similar trials.  I would definitely recommend this novel to anyone. Thanks Bethany House Publishers for sending me a free copy to review!

Steadfast Heart by Tacie Peterson

Tracie Peterson has begun a new series Brides of Seattle.  Set in Seattle, WA in 1888 Book 1 Steadfast Heart tells the story of Lenore Fulcher who has just discovered her father wants to consider the marriage of her and one of his colleagues as part of a business deal. Lenore isn't an "old maid", she just hasn't found her "one true love yet" and would never want to marry someone so much older than herself .  Being an only child, Lenore's parents tend to overprotect and spoil her. Her best friend Abrianna helps her see what the real world is like. She isn't afraid to be out on the streets helping the poor and homeless, much to the dismay of Wade, her friend since childhood. Abrianna lives with 3 aunts at the Madison Bridal School where mail-order brides are taught basic household skills to make them more "marketable". When Kolbein Booth comes to the Bridal School all the way from Chicago looking for his little sister, Lenore starts to believe in "love at first sight". Can it really be possible and will her parents allow a stranger to court her?
I enjoyed this novel, however the first half seemed to move slowly.  The "preview" on the back cover really didn't match the story line.  While it made Lenore seem like the main character, Abrianna was talked about more, especially in the first half, while Lenore was out of town. I could tell that Tracie Peterson was trying to set up the story line for Book 2, which I am assuming is about Abrianna. Yet Lenore's story seemed to be lacking; it was hard to get to know her character and that of Kolbein. I made myself finish it because I wanted to see what happened with Abrianna.  The dialogue between Abrianna's  aunts reminded me of the Baldwin sisters on The Waltons, with much talk of the past and the husband that had passed away.  An okay read, but not one of my favorites.  Thank-you Bethany House Publishers for providing me a free copy.

Becoming Bea by Leslie Gould

Becoming Bea is the 4th novel in The Courtships of Lancaster County series by Leslie Gould. Beatrice Zook has been rivals with Ben Rupp since the grade school spelling bees they competed in year after year.  Ben seems to know just what to say to put Bea on the defense. Only once did Bea start to think they could have a courtship but then Ben broke her heart. When her mom, sister and brother-in-law talk of selling the family farm and moving to Montana, Bea feels pressured to go, but can't shake the feeling that Lancaster County is where she is meant to live. Unexpectedly a family in the community has newborn triplets to take care of, and hire Bea as a temporary helper.  Not knowing anything about babies, Bea at first feels clumsy and scared in her new responsibilities. Yet as time passes, Bea develops a confidence in herself and her duties.  When Ben returns home and their paths cross again, Bea must search for God's will in her life and discover if there is a place for Ben in her heart. This is a first time reading a Leslie Gould novel and I found it hard to get involved in the story.  Maybe it was because I had not read the first novels in the series, but even so there were too many characters at the beginning and I didn't have enough background story of them to get a true idea of who they were. The story moved slowly for me; I tried to read some daily and each time after about 2 chapters I was falling asleep. I had to make myself finish the book.  Normally I enjoy reading about the Amish and I can't wait to see how a novel ends but this was not the case this time.  I honestly cannot recommend this book to my friends.  Thanks Bethany House Publishers for providing me a free copy to review.

Tried & True by Mary Connealy

Mary Connealy has a new series called Wild At Heart.  Set in Idaho Territory in 1866, the series centers around the Wilde Sisters who have served their time in the Civil War and now they have applied for a homestead using their Union Soldier Exemption.  Their father had convinced them to enlist as soldiers after their brother was killed in battle, and now has each of his three daughters on their own homestead. Book 1 begins with Kylie the youngest of the three sisters.  She only wants to stay out west long enough to fulfill her homesteading contract.  While dressing like a man has some benefits when it comes to building her cabin, and helping care for her sister Shannon's sheep, she longs for the day of attending tea parties and balls wearing beautiful gowns back East.  When local land agent Aaron Masterson rescues her from a potential fall off her roof, he realizes Kylie's true identity. Now his conscience is torn between reporting her for fraud or protecting her from the single men in town that either want to marry her or run her off her land. 
This novel has all the action of a western romance as well as some comedy.  I enjoyed the banter between Kylie and Aaron and the closeness of the three Wilde sisters. Mary Connealy has intertwined the historical facts of the time period too so that I learned about the ways of western homesteading. Mary Connealy has an excerpt from Book 2 available at the close of this book.  I look forward to reading Shannon's story in Now and Forever. Thank-you Bethany House Publishers for providing me a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.