Warrior's Journey is the second book in the Cuffe sisters' Blood Brothers in Christ series from Desert Breeze Publishing. I haven't read the first book yet, but this one has a waterfall on the cover, and for those of you who know me, you know how much I enjoy waterfalls.

This story had a lot of mystery and the interesting (I've never read it before) setting of a group of environmental activities as the main characters. But this book was a hard read for me because it has those edgy Christian characters that I've mentioned before in reviews. Characters who are so true to how real people are about not staying in character that they make me work too hard to understand their motivations and attitudes.

What I did understand of the characters, I liked. Molly Stuart had great love for her twelve year old son, Sean. Rand, our hero, though carrying a bad reputation and the guilt of some poor choices from his wilder days, was a man of honor and compassion, with the gift of encouragement. The psychos in the story were definitely psychos, and I wondered why everyone couldn't see that.

My biggest issue happened early in the novel, and you know that once I have an issue, then other little things in the book jump out at me too. I didn't get the name RJ for both the twins. I can believe parents would name twin boys Randoph Jackson and Robinson Joseph, but I don't get how they could both be nicknamed RJ. Individually Rand and Robbie, yes, but not both RJ by all the characters at different times.  I mean, I could understand Molly calling Robbie RJ and Rand, Rand.  And Ashley calling Rand RJ and Robbie, Robbie.  But how can both ladies call both Robbie and Rand RJ at different times in their lives. I don't get it.

But if that is the worst that I don't get in a world of green energy, at risk kids' programs, mountain climbing/hiking accidents, secrets, government agency men, and the wonder of sacrificial love, then hey, I'm still doing okay.  And, you know, I might just go back to Blood Brothers in Christ book one and find out if that answers any of my questions. Who reads books out of order because of a waterfalls anyway?

A House Full of Hope is sweet category romance from Love Inspired. No suspense, just the straight-foward romance novel, which usually leaves me wanting a bit more depth. But I found this story well crafted with great backstory that led into internal character conflicts and moved the plot forward through a series of incidents that drew the hero and heroine closer together. Actually, I recommend this book as a decent study of how to write category romance.

Mark Ryker returns to his hometown to make peace with his dad after a fifteen year silence. His dad isn't interested in forgiveness. But Mark meets Hannah Hughes, once the pesky little sister of a girl he dated in high school. Oops, Mark's wild ways had led the sister into a life-long addiction to alcohol … so Hannah isn't interested in forgiving Mark either. Toss in Hannah's mom who is held captive by a spiritual bitterness bondage, and we have a whole lot of Christians not willing to forgive the new Christian (Mark) who is attempting to obey God by returning to his home town.  I guess you can tell who had my empathy.

But once Hannah got on board and realized Mark had no ulterior motives, my emotions engaged with the story, the main characters, Hannah's delightfully individual children (and dog), and the theme of forgiveness and reconciliation.

If you need reminded that money cannot buy happiness or love, you'll find A House Full of Hope just the ticket for a rainy afternoon.

Bound by Grace is a short historical category romance from Heartsong Presents. In the biz, it's what is called a sweet romance. And Bound by Grace is even sweeter than most.

Our heroine, Charlotte Pringle, is nearly a spinster at age 20, but that's mostly because she is more interested in books than boys, in managing her bookshop than in marrying. Though she isn't against the latter, especially after she meets attractive Richard Baxton.

Richard, our hero, finds himself in charge of all aspects of the family business, his mother, and his niece Grace, after his brother's and sister-in-law's untimely death in a carriage accident. He meets Charlotte at her bookstore while shopping for Grace.

This is a story of a courtship of friendship, of like interests in books and compassion for Grace as she learns to live and walk again after the carriage accident. It is a story of bad timing and some unexplained lack of communication, and mostly the honest insecurities that encroach a deepening love relationship. It's a story of honoring duties, including the requests of parents, and listening to the desires of the heart, and still waiting on the Lord.

Bound by Grace is a quick read, with some interesting details of society life in Brandywine, Delaware in 1881, a different location from the usual western America of romance novels set in this time period.

Suspense. Hot topic of child prostitution and sex-trafficking.  A Texas Ranger. A heroine with a huge heart and desire to make a difference in her section of the world. A kidnapped child.

A good read.  A steady building plot, with believable events added each step of the way.  Empathetic secondary characters in the hero's family and the Beacon of Hope girls. Truly horrendous villains from the top to the bottom of the organization.

The characters were spiritual-lite, but the book's themes of trusting God to be with them, recognizing they were not alone, not to give up hope, and to believe that with God all things are possible were brought out through the main story thread and the side issues in the many of the characters' lives.

I enjoyed this first book in the Men of the Texas Rangers series, and look forward to the next one.

The Green Veil, a sweeping historical romance, follows ten years of the life of Colette Palmer beginning in 1841when she is fourteen years old. Her parents decide to leave Michigan and head into the forests of Wisconsin Territory where her father can realize his dream of owning his own saw mill.

Like Promise Me This, the Green Veil is more historical than romance, more coming of age and learning hard life lessons than the pleasures of first-time love or even the courting dance of romance novels. By its very length, the Green Veil covers lots of ground with what, I suspect, shall be memorable characters.

Colette is my favorite type of heroine, smart, beautiful but unaware of it, capable and kind. But she makes the mistakes that are needed to lead her closer to God and more dependent on Him as life leaves the path she'd expected to walk.  Still, by the end of the novel, she shows a determination to see through her mistakes and to allow God to bless her for her faithfulness.

There are three men in Colette's life (beyond her dad and God) who mold her into the woman she becomes: Nase, her childhood infactuation; Joe, her best friend in the new territory; and Harris Eastman, her father's business partner.

Now, Naomi uses one the of fiction conventions that I least like by opening the story with a prologue that actually takes place later in the book. I dislike this means because I feel manipulated as a reader by a high-powered scene before being tossed into a slow-moving story.  This is the case with the Green Veil, too.  Except, as I try to picture how the story would have read without the prologue, I think it would have read as a different story.  For one thing, I would have been surprised by more of plot twists, but I would have lost the underlying tension that I felt throughout the entire book because of the prologue.  Whereas without the prologue, I may have dismayed at Colette's choices, with the prologue I knew they were choices that were going to lead her to a dark place … and I kept reading because I wanted to see her through that dark place.

Naomi Musch writes with clean, engaging language — great descriptions of the Wisconsin woods, wonderful historical information about the logging industry in the 19c, and a deep, tugging theme of perseverance and surrender.  The Green Veil is not humorous, quick escapism. It may even challenge your ideas of marriage, friendship, and the importance of seeking God in every decision you make.

Check it out at Desert Breeze Publishing. She has a second book out in this series, and a third which will release soon.

Legacy of Lies — written by Desert Breeze author Stephanie McGee — is a contemporary romance with inspirational and speculative elements.

Okay, I'll be candid because this is my blog and I don't know how else to be.  First, I believe I was reading the uncopy-edited version, but if I wasn't, you will find a few grammatical errors here. Second, Stephania is a young author and that shows in how she presents her story. Third, I disagreed with a creative choice that she made near the end of the novel that had my discernment antennae wiggling all over the place.

But let's get on to the good stuff:  A story of young love and a plot that engaged me in the search for truth.  In that sense, the story unfolded in fine fashion, keeping back some elements, weaving in others, revealing bits of history, while giving the hero and heroine activities together to draw them close.

While I didn't always agree with the choices the characters made (who does when someone is messing up his life?), I liked Sarah and Jim for not giving up and for pushing through the rough stuff of life. I liked the believability of two kids trying to make their way together the best way they knew how — when neither had had stellar parenting.

The number of povs in this novel added to the depth of the story and brought it together in the end.

And I always like books set in Montana with cowboys.  Sometimes that in itself is enough for a good read.

Promise Me This is the first book I've read by two-time Christy Award-winning author, Cathy Gohlke.  But from her research details to her easy-reading writing style, I can see why she's received the honors.

Promise Me This is historical fiction that spans from the voyage of the Titanic to the end of World War I.  Sweeping and involved, this story is filled with memorable characters — from the self-sacrificing Owen Allen to the self-centered Aunt Eleanor, each one drove the story to its hard-fought end.

Annie Allen, a girl of fourteen at the book's beginning, has the most spiritual growth while Michael Dunnagan, a scrawny, starving lad of fifteen when he stows away upon the Titanic, grows emotionally into a man worthy of Annie's love.

Delightful secondary characters include Aunt Maggie and Daniel McKenica in America and the Spragues in England, each one showing another facet of God's amazing love.

Long, with one hardship heaped upon the characters after another, the plot climaxes on the French battlefield with Annie and Michael separated once more.  But during that dark separation is when they find the deep truths of God.  Annie (nor any of us) can be salvation for another.  And for Michael, he grasped that the laying down of one's life for another goes even beyond dying that the friend might live. To sacrifice and count it only gain.

I doubt you will find reading this book much of a sacrifice, and I suspect you will gain much through experiencing the lives of these characters.

Thyme for Love is a romantic mystery that is strong on the romance.  The story opens with April Love meeting her ex-fiance after eight years.  She's applying for a job as a chef. Marc Thorne works at the non-profit company she's interviewing at.  He wouldn't be her boss — until the boss turns up dead the next morning.

Ramon Galvez's death is ruled a heart attack, and life goes on for those at the His Helping Hands Ministry.  Except a variety of characters make for good suspects when April begins to question the authority's ruling.  Ramon's ex-girlfriend is top of the list.  But Ramon's gold-digging sister isn't far behind.  Then there are the folks that work at the mission — the maintenance man, the disgruntled accountant, the director of the board, two office workers, and, of course, Marc and Bob Cousins, men who are now vying for Ramon's position.

The romance between April and Marc is stalled because Marc now has a secret he won't share about what happened in the last eight years to derail his oh-so-important agenda of grad school. But as work circumstances and dating opportuntiies keep them together, April begins to see that as a couple they had deeper issues when they were engaged than she'd realized.  Perhaps it was for the best that they had time to grow up separately.

Still, she feels they can't move forward until Marc can trust her with his secrets.  Good thing she has a murder to solve while she's waiting on him.

Clean, straight-forward writing.  Easy to enjoy characters.  Simple romance.  I rarely figure out the killer in mysteries, so that doesn't surprise me.  I'm not sure I followed all the motives, though.  Why don't you give it a read, and we can chat about why the characters did what they did?