Cowgirl at Heart

LYNXWILER, CHRISTINE

COWGIRL AT HEART

Elyse McCord always plays it safe -- a fact she blames on being the biological daughter of a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Even in the security of her adoptive family, the McCords, the timid dog whisperer keeps her guard up with strangers. But when she discovers a dog being horribly mistreated, shy Elyse transforms into a mighty warrior and charges into a perilous situation, not only risking her life, but also her heart.

Reporter Andrew Stone has been fearless since the day his wife was shot and killed three years ago. He has one mission -- use his Texas Ranger upbringing to find her murdere and clear his own name of any involvement. When he sees a beautiful brunette in the hands of a pistol-wielding maniac, he's forced to abandon his covert surveillance and go to the rescue. The danger surrounding Andrew doesn't scare him at all, but the awakening of his dormant heart terrifies him.

When painful pasts collide, the explosion is deafening. Can Andrew and Elyse pick up the pieces and go forward together? Or will they forever live with haunting memories, unable to forgive, unable to love?

LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE THE MCCORD FAMILY. LOVE ANDREW AND ELYSE. THE DOG WHISPERER ANGLE. THIS VIES UP THERE WITH DEE HENDERSON FOR ME.

From a Distance

Alexander, Tamera

From a Distance

Determined to become one of the country's premier newspaper photographers, Elizabeth Westbrook travels to the Colorado Territory to capture the grandeur of the mountains surrounding the remote town of Timber Ridge. She hopes, too, that the cool, dry air of Colorado, and its renowned hot springs, will cure the mysterious illness that threatens her career and her life.

Daniel Ranslett, a former Confederate sharpshooter, is a man shackled by his past, and he'll do anything to protect his land, and his solitude. When an outspoken Yankee photographer captures an image that appears key to solving a murder, putting herself in danger. Daniel is called upon to repay the debt. He's a man of his word, but repaying that debt could bring secrets from his past to light.

Forced on a perilous journey together, Daniel and Elizabeth's lives intertwine in ways neither could have imagined when first they met from a distance.

ALEXANDER IS AN INCREDIBLE AUTHOR. HER MASTERY OF WORDS, THE WAY SHE WEAVES A STORY IS PHENOMONEL. HER CHARACTERS BECOME REAL PEOPLE. HISTORICAL ACCURACY. ROMANTIC DEVELOPMENT SO SATISFYING.

Love Finds You in Liberty Indiana

Dobson, Melanie

Love Finds You in Liberty Indiana

In a divided town during a dangerous era, who can be trusted? Liberty, Indiana is home to a stop on the underground railroad operated by Quaker abolitionists anna Brent and her father. Harboring runaway slaves is a dangerous mission: anyone caught aiding them is subject to imprisonment. When Anna's secret work is threatened, can she turn to the handsome yet outspoken Daniel Stanton, Liberty's newspaper editor, to ensure the safety of the runaway slaves so dear to her? Will she and Daniel risk everything for their beliefs -- including their personal liberty?

VERY WELL RESEARCHED. I CAME AWAY WITH ALOT MORE KNOWLEDGE OF THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD THEN I HAD BEFORE I READ THIS BOOK. EXTREMELY WELL WRITTEN, GRIPPING STORYLINE. ANNA AND DANIEL ARE MEMORABLE CHARACTERS, BUT I FELT THEIR ROMANCE TOOK A BACKSEAT TO THE REST OF THE STORY. WOULDN'T REALLY CATEGORIZE IT AS A ROMANCE SINCE THAT PART REALLY HAPPENED IN THE LAST QUARTER OR SO OF THE BOOK.

Frasier Island

Davis, Susan Page

Frasier Island

After specialized underwater training, Ensign Rachel Whitney of the U.S. Navy is posted to a remote island in the North Pacific, a tiny scrap of rock guarding a highly classified secret. She could love her new assignment if her commanding officer, Lt. George Hudson, weren't so difficult to please.

Despite George's first reaction to her presence on the island, Rachel sets out to prove she is perfect for the job. She doesn't dream of being a heroine -- or falling in love -- but when word leaks out about the prize they are guarding, Rachel and George find that they have few resources besides each other and their faith in God to thwart an enemy attack that could endanger all of America.

LOVE THIS BOOK. FAST-PACED AND EXCITING, WITH COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP LAYERS. BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS. KIND OF SCI-FI TWIST AT THE END.

Soldier Daddy

Wyatt, Cheryl

Soldier Daddy

U.S. Air Force commander Aaron Petrowski leads pararescue teams yet can't find one nanny for his three-year-old twin boys? The widowed father is returning to duty, but not without the best care for his beloved boys. So when Sarah Graham applies, the young woman surprises everyone by passing inspection. Until Aaron discovers Sarah has a secret tied to a tragedy in his past. he can't keep her in his employ -- or in his heart. Until his brave little soldier boys teach him a thing or two about love.

CHARACTERS CARRY THE STORY...EVEN THE SECONDARY ONES. ENJOYABLE READ.

The Substitute Bride

DEAN, JANET

THE SUBSTITUTE BRIDE

Fleeing an arranged marriage, debutante Elizabeth Manning exchanges places with a mail-order bride bound for New Harmony, Iowa. Life on the frontier can't be worse than forced wedlock to pay her father's gambling debts. But Ted Logan's rustic lifestyle and rambunctious children prove to be more of a challenge than Elizabeth expects. She doesn't even know how how to tell Ted the truth about her past - especially as her feelings for him grow. Little does she know, Ted's hiding secrets of his own, and when their pasts collide, there's more than one heart at stake.

DEAN TAKES A PREDICTABLE PLOT AND TWISTS IT INTO SOMETHING FRESH AND EXCITING. BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS -- TED IS PARTICULARLY APPEALING.

A Lady Like Sarah : a Rocky Creek Romance

Brownley, Margaret

A Lady Like Sarah : a Rocky Creek Romance

I never did cotton to being called miss. Makes it sound like I’m missin’ out on somethin’ just cuz I ain’t got me no husband.”

Sarah’s lived a rough and tumble life. Orphaned at six and raised by her outlaw brothers, trouble stuck to her like a shadow. We first meet her handcuffed to a U.S. Marshall who is taking her back to Rocky Creek to hang for murder. Oh – did I mention that someone shot the Marshall and stole his horse leaving both Sarah and the lawman lying unconscious, close to death when…

Okay, this is the part where you’re anticipating the ruggedly handsome cowboy riding to the rescue, right? Sorry to disappoint, but Justin Wells is a Boston preacher and he’s reluctantly heading to his new parish in Rocky Creek on the heels of a scandal back home.

Justin has a bible story for every occasion. Sarah hasn’t set foot in a church since they buried her parents. Justin favours long-winded prayers and sees miracles at every turn. Sarah has never had a prayer answered and doesn’t believe in miracles. You know the old adage, opposites attract? Well, it definitely applies here. There’s sizzle from their first meeting and it leads to their unexpected first kiss which Sarah initiates.

“Great sand and sagebrush! How come no one ever told her that kissin’ a man was more fun than fightin’ a bear?”

Of course the road to true love is never an easy one and Brownley makes it even harder for Justin and Sarah by throwing a few little obstacles across their path to true happiness. Things like a dead marshal, renegade Indians, outlaws, an orphaned baby and…oh yeah…that dang hangman’s noose. Luckily Sarah receives some “divine interruptions” along the way and Justin discovers that the blessings God had in store for him far outweigh the loss of the Boston church he loved.

Margaret Brownley has expertly combined humour and drama and the unexpected to give this historical Western a unique twist. This is a must read…even if you don’t like Historicals or Westerns…because once you’ve read this one you will.

In Sarah’s words, “You have to play the fiddle you have.” and Margaret Brownley has created a masterpiece with hers.

ABSOLUTE DELIGHT TO READ.