The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen

Alec along with his mother and sister move to the town of Beaworthy. Alec intends to open a dancing academy. One problem...the people of Beaworthy have not danced in 20 years!

Strong-willed and strong-headed Julia Midwinter never felt love from her father and has had a strained relationship with her mother for years. When Alec arrives she shamelessly flirts with him but the new dancing master seems to be immune to her charms.

When events from both of their pasts rush to catch up with them how will the two of them stand when everyone around them seems to be against them?

My Thoughts:

Both Alec and Julia's characters grew on me throughout the book. I admit to times of frustration with both of them. Alec's unwillingness to stand up for himself and Julia's constant struggle with her mother wore me out! The story was slow moving and at times I found myself wondering if it was even worth finishing. Yes! Yes it was worth finishing! The characters developed nicely and the ending was perfectly satisfying. Throughout the book I did find similarities to the movie Footloose with a town that was forbidden to dance and two characters determined to change the minds of the powers-that-be. I loved the message of forgiveness and all that that entailed by the end of the story. If you like Regency romances the this is definitely the book for you.

Thanks to the publisher Bethany House through NetGalley for my copy for review. This is my honest opinion.

Unspoken by Dee Henderson

Charlotte Graham was kidnapped when she was 16 years old. She spent 4 years with her abductors before she was rescued. Now 18 years later she has a new name, a new life and a new purpose. She has never spoken of what happened to her during those 4 years and she has no intention of ever speaking about it. Her grandfather has left her a very large estate to settle and his rare coin collection has caused her to find someone she can trust to buy the coins. Bryce Bishop is that man.

Bryce is getting bored with his life when Charlotte shows up and offers him a deal he cannot refuse. No longer bored, Bryce becomes intrigued by Charlotte and all of the layers that make up her character. When Bryce becomes aware of the full extent of Charlotte's inheritance he determines that he will help her with her goal. Bryce and Charlotte come to care for each other but there are still many secrets that Charlotte is keeping from him. Also, whatever happened to Charlotte those 4 years has left her broken and angry at God who allowed something like that to happen. Will Bryce ever be able to show her God's love even though He doesn't answer some of our most anguished prayers the way we would like?

MY THOUGHTS:

I have to admit about the first 30% of the book had me fairly bored. The set-up for the whole story was rather long and tedious with lots of facts about the coins and their value and each step of what Bryce was going to do to get them on the market. Once that part was finished the story picked up pace and ended in true Dee Henderson suspense/romance style. I liked both Bryce and Charlotte as the main characters. Bryce was of course the way understanding Knight-in-Shining-Armor sort and Charlotte was a typical damsel in distress who needed rescuing. Ann and Paul from Full Disclosure were also in this book and friends with Bryce and Charlotte. For the most part I did like this story but if you are a fan of Dee Henderson's O'Malley series there may be a sense of dissatisfaction when finished reading this story.

I received a review copy from Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley and I also purchased a copy from Amazon. This review is my honest opinion.

Glittering Promises by Lisa T. Bergren

As the Kensington's and the Morgan's continue on The Grand Tour every precaution is being taken to keep the group protected from falling into the hands of Nathan Hawke. They are also trying to remain out of the spotlight so that Nathan and his group will not know where they are traveling to.

Cora's father, sensing that she has a head for business even though she is a woman, insists on teaching Cora every aspect of the business much to Andrew Morgan's dismay. Things are tense between he and Val which he blames on Cora.

A generous gesture by Cora has the group being introduced to Eleonora, a young widow who owns a vineyard. Eleonora invites the group to come visit her in Italy and they accept. Eleonora is quite attractive and catches the eye of the men in the group, including Will. This causes friction between Cora and Will.

When the group reaches Rome they are swarmed by reporters. Pierre shows up for one last attempt to win Cora's heart. Danger and tragedy await them in Rome. Will Cora and Will's love survive or will Cora's heart be wooed away by Pierre? 

My Thoughts:

With this being the end of the Grand Tour we can see how much the individuals have grown during the tour. Cora has found her place among her siblings and even has earned the respect of her father. I enjoyed the descriptions of the sites throughout the Grand Tour and even enjoyed some intrigue as Cora's life seems to be in danger throughout. I did find myself getting frustrated with Cora and Will's relationship. Jealousies and spats throughout had me wondering if this couple should really get together. All was settled to my satisfaction at the turning of the last page. If you are an armchair traveler, romance lover, historical fiction fan then The Grand Tour series will be the perfect series for you to read just as it was for me!

Read my reviews of the first two books in the Grand Tour series:

Glamorous Illusions
Grave Consequences

I received my copy of Glittering Promises from the publisher David C. Cook through NetGalley. This review is my honest opinion.

When A Secret Kills by Lynette Eason

Jillian Carter has spent the last 10 years of her life hiding from a killer. Tired of hiding and living a secret Jillian decides to return home to confront the person trying to kill her. The killer is getting closer to Jillian and becoming desperate to finish the job.

Colton Brady is stunned to see the changes in Jillian, the girl he once was in love with. Once Jillian reveals her reason for disappearing 10 years before, Colton has a hard time believing her story. After several attempts on Jillian's life though, Colton has no choice but to confront someone very close to him.

Jillian and Colton have really never stopped loving each other. As Colton fights to keep Jillian alive the attraction they had for each other many years before is once again rekindled. Jillian has one last secret that she is keeping from Colton though. Will this be the secret that ends their relationship forever?

With so many twists and turns I kept thinking "oh this is the killer" or "oh no, THIS is the killer" and then change my mind again! What a great story that can have you guessing right up until the very end of the book! WHEN A SECRET KILLS was a quick and suspenseful read that has me looking forward to reading more of Lynette Eason's stories.

Nowhere to Run by Amy Wallace

Ashley Walters is a police officer. She and her fiancé Patrick will be getting married soon. The only thing standing in their way is Ashley’s stalker. He has been stalking Ashley for 12 years. She didn’t know of him before, but now there is an urgency in him since he knows that Ashley should be his wife and not Patrick’s. 

When Ashley’s stalker puts the people that she loves in danger she decides to take the advice of her boss and disappear. Ashley and her best friend Margo go to the Mennonite and Amish country to be hidden by friends. Ashley doesn’t want to hide though. She wants to draw out the stalker and end her nightmare. She doesn’t want to put her friends and family in any more danger.

Not only is Ashley struggling with the fact that she has a stalker, but she is also struggling with not being able to sense God’s presence in her life. She is feeling abandoned by Him and struggling with her anger at God for not answering her prayers. Her life is in turmoil and danger and she feels that she can only rely on herself to fix the situation. 

This is the second book in the Place of Refuge series. Having not read the first book I felt like I was coming into the middle of a story, but I caught up quickly with what had gone on before. I really liked the suspense of the novel, but found myself getting a bit frustrated with the spiritual aspect of the story. This is where maybe reading the first book in the series may have helped as I might have understood a bit better where Ashley was coming from if I had the background from the first book. Ashley is definitely a strong female character but sometimes I thought she was a bit too impulsive and foolhardy. For the most part it was entertaining and kept me reading through to the end to find out how it all turned out.