Rosemary Cottage Book Review

Rosemary Cottage is yet another enthralling novel by Colleen Coble. The second book in the Hope Island Series is just as full of mystery as the first novel- Tidewater Inn.
   Amy Lange has come back to visit Hope Island after receiving an email that make her belive that her brother Ben's death was no accidental drowning. Curtis Ireland has made a life on the island as a coast guard, and taking care of his little niece Raine after her mother died. Curtis doesn't want to be attracted to Amy for many reasons-mainly that Raine is Ben's daughter, therefore Amy's niece. And Curtis can't stand the thought of loosing Raine. As Amy and Curtis investigate, strange secrets come out of the wood work; strange feelings too.
    Colleen Cobble certainly knows how to write a well-balanced thriller/ romance novel/ drama for every reader.

Barefoot Summer Book Review

Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter is the emotional story of Madison moving on from her brother's dead and accepting that bad things happen- and despite that God is good.

   Madison thinks that if she wins the annual boat race she will be able to accept her brother's death by drowning. So she makes plans to take sailing lessons- carefully laid out plans that are messed up when bad-boy from her past Beckett becomes her teacher. But because she wants to know how to sail, she takes it. Through the summer she finds that Beckett is actually a kind, Godly man. She comes to care for him and even wins the race. But still the mystery and pain of her brother's death linger, and Beckett's secret is still in the backround. 

    I liked this book. Denise Hunter knows how to write a very emotionally gripping novel and I would recommend it for anyone.

Afloat Book Review

Afloat by Erin Healy is a supernatural thriller, about a single mother- Danielle- who finds herself stranded at sea with her son Simeon and a group of investors and resident's of a condominium afloat on a beautiful gulf. Disaster comes and they find themselves lost at sea, no one sure of what to do, who to turn to, or how to survive.
   I found this book very difficult to read. I was a little bit cynical about this book from the beginning- I have read some Erin Healy before and found her very difficult to read. I don't really have much to say about this book. The message itself was deep and emotional- if you could fight your way through the chapters to see it.

The Heiress of Winterwood Book Review

   The Heiress of Winterwood by Sarah Ladd is the story of Amelia Barrett. When her friend Kathleen Sterling dies, Amelia promises to take care of her infant daughter- a daughter who has never been seen by her sea-captain father. Amelia must marry by 24 in order to inherit Winterwood Estate, and despite the fact that her uncle has already picked out a husband for her, Amelia devices a plan to marry Captain Graham Sterling and keep Kathleen's baby with her. When Lucy and her nurse are kidnapped just days before Amelia and Graham are to marry, they must figure out who is against them and if they can marry out of love instead of convenience.
    This book was OK. It was very wordy, which made some of the writing beautiful and some of it just long-winded. I'd say the suspense factor was pretty good, and also the message of the book.

So Shines the Night

So Shines the Night by Tracey L. Higley is another "Seven Wonders of the World" novel. This novel center on the Temple of Artemis about 40 years after the Resurrection of Christ. It follows Daria, a woman scholar who stumbles on dark secrets and has to flee to Ephesus with sea-trader Lucas. In Ephesus she serves as Lucas' tutor, but even there the darkness she left behind follows; Lucas re-enters the world of shadows, secrets, and revenge he fled from. 
   So Shines the Night focuses a lot on demons and witch-craft, it gives the thriller aspect of the book spooky edge. There is also the history/biblical side to this book. It is set in the time of the Ephesian church, and we meet Biblical characters such as Paul, Timothy, and Priscilla. 
    The book is well researched and ties together really well in the end.

Broken Wings Book Review

Broken Wings by Shannon Dittemore is the second book of the Angel Eyes Trilogy. It is seven months after the end of the last book for Brielle and Jake, and much is uncertain. Brielle's gift- her "angel eyes"- seems to be evolving in ways she doesn't understand, and the halo Jake gave her is no longer containing her nightmares. Both Jake and Brielle's father have been keeping secrets form her, secrets that change everything for her.
   It is apparent that this is the second book of a trilogy.The characters aren't as capturing, the plot not as involved- it's more of a build up to the third novel. The first book was obviously an introduction-to the characters, to how angels and demons work and rank- and the second book is a gathering of all the puzzle pieces. Anything that is "revealed" in this book was either apparent at the beginning of the book, or is left a half-mystery until the next book.
   I still really liked this book. It's interesting, and I can't help but like the characters, setting, and quirky little details- like the old men outside the Donut Factory and Kaylee spilling so much blue nail polish on herself she looks like an avatar. The differing tenses with different characters and chapters is still confusing at times.
    Honestly I would recommend this book to anyone and look forward to the next one!

Booksneeze- Secretly Smitten

"Secretly Smitten" is a sequel to "Smitten" by Colleen Coble, Kristen Billerbeck, Denise Hunter, and Dianne Hunt. Secretly Smitten is the story of three sister- Tess, Clare and Zoe- and their mother Anna falling in love and getting over their many insecurities. Also, the mystery of the dog tags found in the attic- dog tags of their grandmother's presumed dead first love. How did the dog tags get there, and is her grandmother's first love still alive? And if he didn't survive the war, how did the dog tags get there?

 Secretly Smitten was very quick-paced. The love stories were rushed, the "mystery" was subtle and barely there. I felt like I never really knew the characters, other than their various insecurities. I'm not saying there is a problem with having insecurities, and like a good emotional problem in a book. But they were too main stream, and just blurted out in one chapter and solved within the next one. It was kind of annoying.

   I'm not saying the whole book is bad, there are still some really sweet love stories. But the first book, " Smitten" is definitely the better of the two.