"The Lady's Mine" by Francine Rivers is a Great Read!

The Lady's Mine by Francine Rivers is an excellent read about a Boston woman being sent to a little mining town out west to claim her uncle's inheritance.  She causes quite the stir when she restarts publishing the newspaper her uncle wrote in spite of being old she was a woman and shouldn't do it.  Just like she pursued starting up a mining operation at the mine she inherited.  Although she is determined never to marry, several men would like to change her mind about that!  

I enjoyed this book very much!  It is well written and moves along with a good mix of action, interesting characters, humor, mystery and romance.  Some lines made me laugh out loud!  It addresses the issue of women's rights and shows how people can bring about change to a community.  I had a hard time putting it down and always looked forward to getting back to it.  This has clean language and no raunchy love scenes.  It even has questions at the end for book club discussions.  I highly recommend this one! (Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"Mountain Made" by Max Brand

In Mountain Made by Max Brand, Winsor Glanvil has a plan to marry Louise Carney.  When Jack Rutledge finds out, he makes sure that is not going to happen.  He also plans to make sure Winsor never marries anyone!  What does Jack do and can Winsor ever find love again?

This book started out really good and the last part was pretty good, but the middle part fell flat to me.  Winsor was a good character and I enjoyed King Silver, the wolf, very much!  You will have to read the book to find out about King Silver!  (Gerard's review, 4 stars)

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"Loving a Rebel: The Preacher's Daughters" by Linda Ford

Loving a Rebel by Linda Ford is a western romance that I enjoyed very much.  Flora, a preacher's adopted daughter, is a bit of a rebel who loves adventure.  One day she is riding her horse and discovers some man is following her so she rides faster.  A snowstorm comes up and she gets lost and her horse is lame.  Fortunately, she comes upon a house.  Kade is a rancher who lives alone and because of his past, is very cautious.  He feels sorry for Flora and gives her shelter even though she is reluctant to stay with him over night.  She knows if her father finds out, he will force them to get married!  

I liked this because it is a clean romance with no sex scenes at all and likeable characters.  Both Kade and Flora are stuck in their pasts until they open their hearts to each other.  (Karen's review, 4 stars) 

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"Mrs. Grey" by Rachel Wesson (Book 12 in Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Series)

Mrs. Grey: Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Book 12 by Rachel Wesson is about how the sheriff and Loreana Grey get together. There is some tension between the Irish workers and the former slaves who have set up camp just outside of town as well as some old grudges from the Civil War between those who fought for the north and those who fought for the south.

I was disappointed in this book because I really liked Mrs. Grey but her character seemed to be watered down in this book. It also wasn’t about a mail order bride so don’t know why it was included in this series. I liked other books in this series much better. This one lacked the humor and interest that others had.
(Karen’s review, 3 stars)

Teaser at Kindle Loc. 66-67: The former slaves and their families had been having a hard time in Denver and welcomed the chance to come to Clover Springs. The two groups of men had set up camp just outside of town.

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"Tried & True" (Wild at Heart Series Book 1) by Mary Connealy

Tried & True by Mary Connealy is about three sisters becoming homesteaders after serving in the Civil War disguised as men to fulfill their pa's dream.  Kylie, Bailey and Shannon are the three sisters who have been made tough by war and have picked up some manly skills.  Shannon loves animals and is happy raising sheep while the eldest sister, Bailey loves being independent and raising cattle.  Kylie, however, prefers civilization, tea parties and bonnets and has agreed to homestead for just three years to claim ownership of the land and then sell it to her pa and move back east.  When the land agent comes around and discovers she is a woman so can't get the 2-yr land exemption and has to live on the land five years to own it, she is devastated and her plans change.

I enjoyed this first book in the series which centers on Kylie and look forward to reading about the other two sisters in the next books of this series.  Kylie's struggles to do manly jobs at her cabin, the efforts to try to get her to leave and the romance that developed between her and Aaron, the land agent, kept my interest. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Teaser from pg. 21:  Aaron Masterson had his arms around the prettiest little thing in the whole wide world.  And considering she was soaking wet, freezing cold, and crying her head off, that was saying something.

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"Cathy--Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Book 11" by Rachel Wesson

Cathy, Book 11 of the Colorado Springs Mail Order Bride series by Rachel Wesson is about drug addiction in the 1800s. When Cathy’s adoptive parents died in a boating accident, the doc gave her some medicine to which she became addicted. Her cousin, Archibald, was appointed her guardian and her father suggested they marry. No love between them though. With the help of Cathy’s maid, she ran off to Clover Springs to find her long lost sister, Mary. Cathy was afraid Archibald was poisoning her and he threatened to put her in an asylum! Shortly after arriving in Clover Springs, she fainted in the street which was how Abe O’Malley met her when he carried her over to the doctor’s office.

This book started out a bit slow and at first, I felt sort of bombarded with a bunch of new characters. I would have liked more of Cathy’s married life with Abe. I thought there should have been more catching up with the sisters. This book seemed to end abruptly. Wilma and her girls were just like a little distraction in this book which focused almost completely on Cathy and Abe. I liked it, but not as much as the others in this series.
(Karen’s review, 3 stars)

Teaser from Loc. 570-71 on Kindle: “My parents, the people who adopted me, hid them from me. My letters to Mary are in the bag.”


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"Christmas in Clover Springs" by Rachel Wesson (Book 8)

Christmas in Clover Springs by Rachel Wesson is Book 8 of the Clover Springs Mail Order Brides series. This one is about Alecia and how she realized what she had been taught to believe about people was not right. She came from Boston to Clover Springs by a chance meeting with Father Malloy on the train. One kind deed changed her life completely for the better.

I read this in one morning! I liked how Alecia and Father Malloy brought 30 more orphans to Clover Springs. This was predictable, but I still enjoyed it very much. I liked seeing how Alecia’s prejudice fell away once she got to know people and re-evaluated her beliefs. I also liked the surprise twist at the end.
(Karen’s review, 5 stars)

Teaser from Kindle location 1001-2: She smiled slightly. Her mama would have swooned if she knew her only daughter stood in the middle of a school yard covered in mud from head to toe conversing with an Indian.


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"Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Box Set" by Rachel Wesson

There are five books by Rachel Wesson in the Clover Springs Mail Order Brides Box Set:  Katie, Mary, Sorcha, Emer, and Laura. All are set in the 1880s.  If you are a fan of the TV show, "When Calls the Heart," I think you would like all of these!

The first, Katie, is about Katie and her sister heading west to get away from their mean uncle and aunt in Boston. Katie agrees to marry Montes Cassidy but on the way, the train is robbed and the engineer killed. She is stuck in a town called Clover Springs and meets lives at a boarding house owned by Daniel’s mother. She met Daniel on the train and sparks fly between them, but Montes agrees to come to Clover Springs to marry her. Katie wants to get of the wedding, but feels strongly about keeping her word.

The second in this series is Mary. She was Katie’s friend who came over from Ireland with her younger sister and her parents, but her parents died on the ship. Katie’s Uncle did not want to take in Mary and her sister, so they lived at the orphanage. Mary’s sister was adopted, and Katie set her up as a mail order bride for Davey, her brother-in-law. In this book, Katie has a child and Mary and Davey hit it off once Davey shares his past with Mary.

The third in this series is Sorcha. She was a friend of Mary’s from the orphanage and agreed to be a mail order bride to join Mary in Clover Springs. She came to be a wife to an older man with two little girls who had lost his wife and son and is still grieving and very overprotective, understandably. He was only interested in providing a mother for his girls but found himself falling in love with Sorcha.

The fourth in this series is Emer, Sorcha’s sister who was raised by their mother, a member of an outlaw gang. When her mother planned to sell her to sell and give her to Bill, the leader of the gang, Emer at 14 years old, took off to find her sister who she thought was still in Boston. Father Malloy arranged for a well-to-do family, the Shipley’s to take her to Denver with them so she could get to Clover Springs.

The fifth in this series is Laura who also used to room with Mary and Sorcha at the orphanage. She has a photographic memory and a birthmark which caused people to believe she was a witch. She married Johnny, a saloon owner who turned out to be very bad. He forced her to use her memory to help him cheat and win at cards. She finally went to Clover Springs when her husband got shot and found happiness with some old and new friends. There is some interesting action in this book and Little Bear helps save Laura’s life.

I thoroughly enjoyed this entire series because each book kept my interest all the way through Every book is very balanced between adventure, romance and humor. They are all clean and reminded me of the TV show “When Calls the Heart.” I loved them all! I found out there is a next one named Ellen and hope to read that one as well. I highly recommend all these if you like historical fiction and/or western romance.
 (Karen's review, 5 stars)


Have you read any of these--you should! What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Tomorrow's Garden" by Amanda Cabot (Western Historical Romance)

Tomorrow's Garden by Amanda Cabot is the last book in the Texas Dreams series.  This one focuses on Lawrence, the former Texas ranger who accepted a temporary position as sheriff and mayor of a small Texas town. Harriet accepted the job of school teacher and moved to town with her five brothers and sisters.  Both Harriet and Lawrence had secret fears resulting from some scary past experiences.  This book has family drama, some adventure and some romance.

Of the three books in the series, this was my least favorite but I still enjoyed it.  I just didn't like Harriet, the main character, much.  I did not like how she treated Jake, her younger brother or how she treated Lawrence.  I was glad to see she changed for the better by the end of the book.  I really liked Lawrence and how he tried to help Jake.  There were parts in this book that made me laugh out loud.  It's an entertaining read.
(Karen's review, 4 stars)

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"Scattered Petals" by Amanda Cabot (Christian fiction western romance)

Scattered Petals by Amanda Cabot is the second book in the Texas Dreams series and did not disappoint. This one focuses on Priscilla, Clay’s sister-in-law, who witnesses her parents being shot and is raped on the way to attending Sara and Clay’s wedding. Priscilla always wanted to see Texas and yearned for adventure. She got more than she bargained for! Will her dreams ever come true?

I enjoyed this Christian fiction western romance and liked both Priscilla and Zach. They both had things in their past to overcome so they could move on with their lives.
 (Karen's review, 4 stars)

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"Paper Roses" (Texas Dreams Book 1 series) by Amanda Cabot

Paper Roses by Amanda Cabot takes place in the 1800s in Texas.  Sarah is a mail-order bride with a younger sister to care for who is angry at her father for shooting her mother and then himself.  She leaves Philadelphia and the loneliness to start a new life in Texas but finds something very different than what she expected.

I enjoyed this story because of the mystery included to make it more than just another Christian fiction romance that is predictable.  Although the romance part was predictable from the start, I did not figure out who the murderer was until it was revealed at the end.  The theme of the book is that God can bring good out of bad situations.  I liked the characters and I always looked forward to getting back to reading it to see what would happen next. 

This is the first book I've read by this author but plan on reading more by starting with completing this trilogy.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

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"Messenger by Moonlight" by Stephanie Grace Whitson is fiction about The Pony Express

Messenger by Moonlight by Stephanie Grace Whitson tells the story of a young girl named Annie and her two brothers, Frank and Emmett.  When their dad dies, they are left broke and lose the farm.  The brothers decide to join the Pony Express and Annie comes along and becomes a cook at one of the stations.

I liked Annie, the main character, but this book had little action and there was nothing that took me by surprise.  It's an okay read that I read only because Karen recommended it.
(Gerard's review 7/18/16, 3.5 stars) 

Karen's review 7/13/16, 4 stars:
Messenger by Moonlight by Stephanie Grace Whitson is a very enjoyable read about two brothers (Frank and Emmett) who join up as pony express riders and sign up their sister as a cook for Clearwater, one of the remote home stations in Nebraska territory without even asking first!  Annie is at first put out by that, but doesn't want to be alone so agrees to go with them on this new money-making adventure. Emmett trusts in the Lord for courage and guidance and encourages Annie to as well, like their ma but Frank doesn't want anything to do with God and just complains about his rotten luck.  Annie tries to stay positive and look for the good things.  Annie has a dream of having her own nice white house with flower boxes and blue trim one day and Frank aims to make sure that happens for her.  When they get to the Clearwater station and meet the owner, George Morgan, he is not what any of them expected.

I enjoyed this historical western romance very much and liked all the characters.  The story line moved along and gave insight in what the pony express riders faced and the part women played during this time.  I loved the ending and recommend this for anyone who likes novels about the west around the time of the Civil War.  It had some funny parts that I actually laughed out loud at!


I also liked Key on the Quilt by this author.

Joining in Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop this week responding to the book review prompt.

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"Aundy--Book 1 of Pendleton Petticoats Series" by Shanna Hatfield

Aundy by Shanna Hatfield is a historical western romance that kept my attention all through and was an enjoyable read, although had some very sad parts in it.  I liked Aundy right off and felt so sad for her and her new husband at the beginning of the book.  This is a story of a woman coming from the city to be a mail-order bride for a farmer in Oregon who was very excited to marry her and share his dreams with her.  She is a strong, independent woman with a kind heart.

This is a clean romance novel with action as well.  I liked the writing and hope to read more books by this author.  I really liked how she took charge and made her own decisions in running her new farm.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)   

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"Stuck Together-Trouble in Texas Book 3" by Mary Connealy

For Valentine's Day, I am reviewing the historical romance novel I just finished.

Stuck Together—Trouble in Texas, book 3 by Mary Connealy Is about the romance between Vince and Tina, Jonas’ sister. When Vince’s parents and half-sister arrive in town, he gets all shook up and fears that he will become like his tyrannical father or his mother who has dementia. He gets stuck at being sheriff of the town (with no pay) and has to deal with tracking down some drunk who shot at Luke, an escaped prisoner, taking care of his mother and falling in love with Tina, the most beautiful woman he ever saw.

I enjoyed this quick western romance because the women were pretty feisty and it was cute how the Jonas and Vince both liked each other’s sister. Vince’s mother, Mrs. Yates, was a sweet old lady who kept trying to go out when no one was paying attention to her and was quite successful. I thought it was really nice how the townspeople all joined together to take turns keeping watch over Mrs. Yates. This book had more romance than the first two which I liked better, but still had a little action and excitement at the end.
(Karen's review, 3 stars)


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"Remembered" by Tamera Alexander is a Funny Historical Western Romance

Remembered by Tamera Alexander is the third book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles Series.  I really loved the first two books in this series so was excited to read this one as well which proved to be good too!  It is about Veronique's journey from Paris, France to Willow Springs in Colorado territory to try to find her father to fulfill her mother's dying wish.  Her father was a good man who left her and her mother behind when he came to America when she was just a little girl.  Veronique had quite the culture shock when she first arrived and quickly became known by everyone in the small town with her pretty fancy dresses and her French words.  She learns about herself and finds romance she did not expect on her journey. 

I liked this book because of the humor in it and I enjoyed reading about the funny and sometimes scary things that happened to Veronique.  It was also nice reading about some of the characters from the previous books in this series, but this book can also stand alone.  If you like Christian historical romance and western fiction, I highly recommend it.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Rekindled and Revealed are the first two books of this Fountain Creek Chronicles series.

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"Revealed" by Tamera Alexander

Revealed by Tamera Alexander is an historical Christian fiction romance that I thoroughly enjoyed reading from beginning to end.  This is the sequel to Rekindled which I also enjoyed and is the second book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles series.  Although the ending was predictable, I loved the journey with humor, action and interesting characters.  This is about Annabelle, a former prostitute who marries the man who bought her from the brothel.  Right off the bat, she finds herself a widow with a very antagonistic brother-in-law, Matthew.  The novel beautifully shows how people can change and become new creatures in Christ.  Both Annabelle and Matthew have pasts they would rather forget.  Once I started, it was hard to put this one down!  I highly recommend it.  

(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Short-Straw Bride" by Karen Witemeyer

Slow moving but with an exciting ending

Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer is a historical western romance between Travis Archer and Meredith.  He was the oldest of four brothers who made a death-bed promise to his dad to protect the ranch and his brothers by staying on it.  He felt guilty breaking his promise to see Meredith home after hurting her leg in one of his traps.  Then years later, she came back into his life to warn him of a scheme to burn his barn.  It’s a good Christian fiction story with a happy ending but moved kind of slow.  I liked Travis but didn’t care for Meredith.
(Karen's review)

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"Over The Edge" by Mary Connealy

This is about Seth, the crazy younger brother.  Loved it!

Over the Edge by Mary Connealy is a Christian historical western romance. It is about a romance between Seth and the wife he forgot he had after being hurt in the Civil War, and the son he knew nothing about. Callie is alone in the world with a baby boy so decides to try to track down Seth's brothers to see if they would take her in since she thinks Seth abandoned her and may be dead. When Seth finds her, it's not a happy reunion.

I liked Over the Edge by Mary Connealy because it has a lot of action in it with characters I liked. I loved how the author kept my interest once again with lots of action, adventure, humor and interesting characters. This is another clean historic romance involving cowboys, the third book in The Kincaid Brides series. Mary Connealy is fast becoming one of my favorite romance writers. It's a light, quick fun read but with a Christian flavor and lots of action!


Have you read this series?  Who was your favorite couple?  Rafe and Julia, Ethan and Audra, or Seth and Callie?  Mine was Ethan and Audra. Here are links to my other reviews in this series:  Out of Control and  In Too Deep.
(Karen's review)

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"Out of Control" by Mary Connealy

Read this on on Kindle

Out of Control by Mary Connealy is about two controlling people who fall in love very quickly during the 1800s in Colorado. Julia got trapped in a cave while looking for fossils and Rafe, a rancher nearby, discovered her in there and rescued her. The mystery comes when Julia is stalked by a guy who is after her father's buried treasure. This book has suspense and adventure but also interesting characters which makes it a good read. I look forward to reading the sequel, In Too Deep.
(Karen's review)

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"Morning Comes Softly" by Debbie Macomber

A delightful and heartwarming read, Morning Comes Softly by Debbie Macomber is my favorite novel of hers. It’s a romance about a Montana cowboy who puts an ad for a wife in a paper so that he can raise his brother’s three children who became orphans when their parents were killed in an auto accident. Who would answer such an ad? One lonely frumpy librarian from Louisiana named Mary is who. Travis thought she was like Minnie Mouse and was very disappointed when they first met; however, she managed to bulldoze her way into his heart. She met all the requirements mentioned in the ad that he and the children wrote: she could cook, sew and sing.

There is a lot of humor in this book which I loved; however, it also dealt with some serious issues such as dealing with grief, anger, bitterness, marital issues, and parenting. It is a light, enjoyable and entertaining read that I recommend to anyone who enjoys a good family story with romance and a happy predictable ending.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it?

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