Tracie Peterson: In Times Gone By

By Kelly Bridgewater

After getting left at the altar, Kenzie Gifford flees to San Francisco to start her life over, determined never to love again. She's made new friends and has a good job in the office of her cousin's chocolate factory. The only thorn in her side is Dr. Micah Fisher, who insists on pursuing her despite her constant rejection.

Then the Great 1906 Earthquake strikes the city, and everything changes. The devastation all around her makes Kenzie reevaluate her outlook on life--and possibly even her feelings for Micah. But then her world is rocked again when her ex-fiancé appears, full of apologies and determined to win her back. But Arthur already broke her heart once. Does she dare trust him again? The sudden arrival of a hidden danger will expose the motivations of all involved, but it could cost Kenzie her life--as well as her heart.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Tracie Peterson has written over a hundred novels, so of course, she knows the mechanics of a good novel and keeps pumping them out. With her Golden Gate Secrets series, I came to know her writing and her characters a lot better. I have enjoyed this series from the amazing characters to the plot. Peterson captured my attention and didn't let go.

The Golden Gate Secrets series involves three women who meet on a train and follow their adventures as they arrive in a new city and ends right after the fire and earthquake of 1906. Peterson does a wonderful job at using her words to bring this world and the characters to life on the page. 

They jumped off the page and directly into my imagination. I enjoyed this series.

The romance isn't over the top, but it is definitely there. Peterson didn't make me cringe with too much romance; it occurred naturally over the course of the story. It was predictable, and I knew exactly how the story and series would end.

I was glad to finally learn more about Kenzie and see her story and background from her perspective. Kenzie was a strong heroine even though she appears to be a major introvert in the first two installments in this series. I liked Micah, the hero, too. He loved Kenzie and was willing to do anything for her, just like most heroes in a novel do.

The plot kept my attention. I enjoyed the mystery elements with Arthur Morgan and Victoria. They helped move the plot along. I didn't have a hard time focusing on the plot. I wanted more.

Overall, In Times Gone By by Tracie Peterson is a wonderfully crafted story that fit in nicely with the first two books. The plot worked well for the time period, and the predictable romance filtered in and out. I loved the returning characters who supported Kenzie and helped cement my interest in the story. Fans of Karen Barnett and Susan Anne Mason might enjoy this novel.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

About the Author:

From Amazon

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Visit Tracie's web site at: http://www.traciepeterson.com  (Taken from Amazon.)

Second in Series

By Kelly Bridgewater

The first Friday in August, I wrote a post entitled First in Series. I mentioned a number of authors who grabbed my attention when I read their first novel and have LOVED them ever since.

This month, being the second Friday in September, I want to share some of my favorite authors who grabbed me with their second book.

Without further ado: (All images come from Amazon unless noted.)

The Rook by Steven James

 

A Great Catch by Lorna Seilstad

 

Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade

www.goodreads.com

A Match of Wits by Jen Turano

 

What about you? Have you ever picked up a second book written by an author and been wowed by their writing? Just enough that you went and purchased the rest of their books and still buy their stories?

Ashley Dawn: Shadows from the Past

From Amazon

 By Kelly Bridgewater

“…It is the price you pay for choosing to be a cop. Your brother’s life…”

Those words haunt her dreams, and her waking moments. LAPD officer, Aurora Kavvan cannot rest until she finds her brothers killer. Digging into the past always brings back unpleasant things: memories, guilt…the hit man. Now she is in a race against time to find the murderer before he finds her.

“Kill her. I don’t care how, and I don’t care where, but I want her dead now!”

Someone was trying to kill his dead partner’s sister. FBI agent, Jordan Reiley will stop at nothing to protect the woman he loves. Even if it means going against her wishes; putting himself between her and the man who murdered her brother.

Will God keep them alive long enough for them to find the truth?

My Thoughts:

I have read tons of romantic suspense novels, and I have a pretty good idea of how the mechanics of a novel works, especially in this genre. Ashley Dawn is a new author who I have never heard of, but the synopsis for her story Shadows from The Past sounded interesting and right up my alley, so I signed up for a copy. Not what I was expecting.

First, I do adore the cover for this book. Whoever Dawn hired to do the cover did a fabulous job. It fit the synopsis perfectly and gave a wonderful feel to the upcoming novel. This helped cement my choice to read the novel.

Setting is important to grounding the reader to the characters and the surrounding world. If I can't visualize where the characters are, then I have a hard time following the story. Dawn would mention that the characters were in an apartment or a safe house, which happened to be Jordan's house, but she really didn't spend a lot of time showing me what I was looking at. So my imagination had to make up a house and fill in the blanks.

The characters make or break a novel. In this case, they actually break the novel. I had no sympathy for the heroine or the multiple other characters. They appeared to be stick figures running around on the page. She tried to make Aurora, Rory, Roar, or Roarie (whatever nickname she tried to use) a deep wounded character, but she spent way too much time processing things. I believe I had more time listening to her internal dialogue than watching her actually speak to the other characters. Needs to be dialed back a lot. Like Rachel Hauck says, "Tell the story between the quotes." I think Dawn needs to spend some time editing a lot of the internal dialogue.

The plot. The story begins with a nightmare, which I didn't know is a nightmare until Aurora wakes up. Then I'm thrown into a lot more internal dialogue before any more action. Then Dawn would have something happen to the partners or the person Aurora happens to be with. They always end up in the hospital, and Aurora is apologizing for the incident. The story did not have much hair raising tension either. It felt very slow (maybe because of all the internal dialogue), then the ending to catch the person who wanted Aurora dead is also anti-climatic. I gasped in shock how simple the ending was. Been done before. Not surprising. Also, there is A LOT of head hopping in the same chapter. The story goes from Aurora's perspective to Jordan's to Joe's to Alex's to the bad guys all in one chapter. Confused me a couple of times. Not supposed to do that.

Overall, Shadows from the Past by Ashley Dawn is a first draft of a beginning writer. I think she needs to spend some time focusing on the mechanics of writing a novel and then return to this novel. With more practice, she probably would be able to make the tension stronger, the ending different and better, and the dialogue much better for the readers to endure.

I received a complimentary copy of Shadows from the Past by Ashley Dawn through Celebrate Lit Tours, but the opinions stated are my own. 

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Where to connect with Ashley Dawn:

Facebook

Website 

Twitter

Author's Bio:

From Amazon

Ashley Dawn was born and raised in rural Arkansas where she developed her love for writing while helping in her parent's office. She graduated with an accounting degree from the University of Central Arkansas but is currently working as a legal assistant.
Ashley has been writing professionally for the past twelve years and has three published books. Her Shadows Series include Shadows From The Past, Shadows of Suspicion, Shadows of Pain, and Shadows of Deception. She is currently working on multiple projects including the fifth in her ‘Shadows’ series entitled “Shadows in Black and White” and also a standalone suspense titled ‘One of Their Own’. She and her family make their home in Texas.

Lisa Harris: A Secret to Die For

By Kelly Bridgewater

Psychologist Grace Callahan has no idea that she has a secret--one worth killing for. But when she finds out one of her clients has been murdered, she quickly realizes that the computer security specialist wasn't simply suffering from paranoia.

Detective Nate Quinn has just been cleared for active duty after a bombing killed eighteen people, including his partner, and left him dealing with PTSD. His first case back on the job involves the murder of Stephen Shaw, and his only lead turns out to be an old friend, Grace Callahan--and her life is in grave danger. Someone believes Shaw gave his psychologist information before he died. Information they are willing to kill for.

With her signature pulse-pounding suspense, Lisa Harris takes readers deep into the heart of fear in this race against the clock.

From Amazon

My Thoughts:

Lisa Harris writes romantic suspense, and I have read a couple of them. I really enjoyed her Nikki Boyd's series. With plenty of action, I had a hard time putting the first three down. With romantic suspense, the story can go three ways: fifty percent romance and fifty percent suspense, mostly suspense and little romance, or mostly romance with little suspense. I prefer my romantic suspense to be the first two. If it is the last one, then I'm really not that interested. As for Harris' A Secret to Die For, the novel falls in the fifty percent romance and fifty percent suspense.

The writing is clear and concise. Harris does a great job at writing in each individual character's perspective. I didn't have a hard time understanding the character's point of view. The emotions of each character fall directly in line with the characters and how Harris's portrays them. The setting was described well, allowing me to visualize the characters as they moved around in the story.

The plot is more of a thriller than a suspense. Grace and Nathan are chasing a electric terrorist as they try to take out our electrical grid. The suspense moves constantly. I had a hard time putting the story down. I finished the novel in around four hours. It moves quickly from one incident to another without really allowing much breathing room from Grace and Nathan. Just the one I like a suspense novel to be.

Grace and Nathan are strong characters. I really like how Grace steps up and is determined to save herself and help Nathan find all the clues to find who is trying to hurt her. That makes her a strong heroine in my book. No woman should stand around and wait for a man to save her. Nathan, on the other hand, worked really hard to solve the clues, but sometimes it feels like Grace was taking over even though Nathan was the trained officer.

Overall, A Secret to Die For by Lisa Harris is a fast-paced thriller with a non-stop chase populated with a number of fascinating characters. Fans of Colleen Coble, Brandilyn Collins, and Irene Hannon will enjoy this novel.

I received a complimentary copy of A Secret to Die For by Lisa Harris from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

About the Author:

From Amazon

Bestselling author LISA HARRIS is a Christy Award finalist for Blood Ransom and Vendetta, Christy Award winner for Dangerous Passage, and the winner of the Best Inspirational Suspense Novel for 2011 (Blood Covenant) and 2015 (Vendetta) from Romantic Times. She has over thirty novels and novella collections in print. She and her family have spent over fourteen years working as missionaries in Africa where she runs a small non-profit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry. The ECHO Project promotes Education, Compassion, Health, and Opportunity and is a way to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves...the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice." (Proverbs 31:8) (Taken from Amazon.)

Most Anticipated Books for Fall 2018

Kelly Bridgewater

With September upon us, I wanted to share with you my most anticipated books for Fall 2018. There aren't as many for the fall. I think the publishing companies take a break in December, which is fine by me. Time to catch up.

But without further ado, here are my most look forward to books this fall: (All images come from Amazon unless noted!)

 Steven James: Every Wicked Man

 

Hidden Among the Stars by Melanie Dobson

An Hour Unspent by Roseanna M. White

 

Hidden Peril by Irene Hannon

 Wait for Me by Susan May Warren

 

 The Bride of Ivy Hill by Julie Klassen