HEART ON THE LINE
Ladies of Harper’s Station #2
by
Karen Witemeyer
Genre: Christian / Historical / Frontier Romance
Publisher: Bethany House
Date of Publication: June 6, 2017
Number of Pages: 336
Month: June 2017
Review – Blood Oath by Melissa Lenhardt
This is the second Laura Elliston novel, and continues to follow “Laura” and Kindle. I received a NetGalley copy, just like I did for Sawbones (review).
Western / Historical Fiction
Outlander meets post-Civil War unrest in this action-packed follow up to Sawbones.
Laura Elliston and William Kindle are on the run — from the Army and from every miscreant in the West eager to claim the $500 bounty for Laura’s capture as their own. But the danger isn’t just from those pursuing them. Laura and Kindle have demons of their own and a past that won’t stay dead. Exhausted, scared, scarred and surrounded by enemies, neither realize the greatest danger is yet to come.
* I received a free NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review.
I think my biggest impression of this book is that it is exhausting. Laura and William are almost constantly running, and I felt like there wasn’t an actual story with a beginning, middle, and end. It was all middle. At the end of the book, their situation seemed no more resolved than the beginning.
I will say that I believe Laura’s character did a bit of growing, a little healing, at least. But I still had a hard time connecting to her character.
2 of 5 stars, I’m not sure I’ll be reading the next installment anytime soon.
Blog Tour – Under a Summer Sky
UNDER A SUMMER SKY
Follow Your Heart, Book 3
by
Melody Carlson
Genre: Contemporary Romance / Christian / Inspirational
Publisher: Revell
Date of Publication: June 6, 2017
Number of Pages: 320
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Review – Sawbones by Melissa Lenhardt
I requested Sawbones from NetGalley because ever since it toured on the Lone Star Book Blog Tour, I’ve wanted to read it. I was surprised there was still an option on NG when the book is already published, but you never know until you try! Look for reviews to the next two books in the series over the next month or so.
Historical Fiction / Western / Romance
Wrongfully accused of murder, Dr. Catherine Bennett is destined to hang… unless she can disappear.
With the untamed territory of Colorado as her most likely refuge, she packs her physician’s kit and heads West. But even with a new life and name, a female doctor with a bounty on her head can hide for only so long.
Sawbones is the first novel in a gripping historical fiction series. (Goodreads)
*I received a NetGalley copy in exchange for an honest review.
Maybe it’s a personal preference, but first-person POV seems more fitting for a contemporary work rather than a historical one. There wasn’t much connection to the main character Catherine/Laura despite being inside her head.
There were jumps in time/place, especially in the beginning, that at times made it hard to follow.
Catherine’s journey is not an easy one. It is filled with a lot of pain and misfortunes. But she still finds a way. I like that she did not give up, even though at times it seems she’s ready to. I really enjoyed the way the past continued to haunt Catherine through the people around her, showing that no matter how far you go, it’s a small world.
There are a range of secondary characters that prove to be quite interesting, as well.
The views on Native American Indians held by the characters of the book are probably pretty true to the time, but they were very difficult to swallow.
Overall the story was okay, and I’m hoping to see a little more development and complexity from the writing over the course of the next two books.
3 of 5 stars
Review – Free-Wrench by Joseph R. Lallo
In my early Kindle days, when I read at all hours of the night/day while nursing my son, I read The Book of Deacon. There were a lot of books read during that time, so the fact that I remember reading and enjoying it means…something. Something good, I think. I fully intend to read it again sometime and leave it with a proper review.
One day I was browsing the “just added” audiobooks on Hoopla when the familiar name Joseph R. Lallo caught my eye. So I favorited Free-Wrench for when I was ready for a new audiobook.
I was also excited to see the rest of the Deacon series is available, as well as most of Lallo’s sci-fi series Big Sigma. The wide selection of titles, often including indie-pubbed works, is one of the reasons I really enjoy Hoopla.
Blog Tour – Eldridge Conspiracy
THE ELDRIDGE CONSPIRACY
Sir Kaye the Boy Knight, Book 4
by
Don M. Winn
Genre: Children’s Chapter Book / Adventure / Medieval
Publisher: Progressive Rising Phoenix Press
Date of Publication: June 16, 2017
Number of Pages: 166, B&W illustrations
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Review – Beastly Bones by William Ritter
At the beginning of the year I read Jackaby by William Ritter. You can see my review here.
I’m fortunate enough to have access to both Overdrive and Hoopla through my library, and I borrowed the ebook version of Beastly Bones from Hoopla.
Young Adult / Historical Fiction / Mystery
I’ve found very little about private detective R. F. Jackaby to be standard in the time I’ve known him. Working as his assistant tends to call for a somewhat flexible relationship with reality . . .
In 1892, New Fiddleham, New England, things are never quite what they seem, especially when Abigail Rook and her eccentric employer, R. F. Jackaby, are called upon to investigate the supernatural. First, members of a particularly vicious species of shape-shifters disguise themselves as a litter of kittens. A day later, their owner is found murdered, with a single mysterious puncture wound to her neck. Then, in nearby Gad’s Valley, dinosaur bones from a recent dig go missing, and an unidentifiable beast attacks animals and people, leaving their mangled bodies behind. Policeman Charlie Cane, exiled from New Fiddleham to the valley, calls on Abigail for help, and soon Abigail and Jackaby are on the hunt for a thief, a monster, and a murderer. (Goodreads)
I just love how quick the story moves along, and I think Ritter does a good job of capturing the language and pacing of the literature that emerged in/around the time the Jackaby series is set in. I love how all the pieces of the story come together. There is a lot of wit in the writing.
I didn’t think this installment was quite as entertaining as the first, but I still very much enjoyed reading it. I look forward to reading Ghostly Echoes sometime, although it may be another few months before I get around to it.
4 of 5 stars
Have you read this series? Did you enjoy it?
❤ Julia
Blog Tour – The Swimming Holes of Texas
THE SWIMMING HOLES
OF TEXAS
by
Julie Wernersbach & Carolyn Tracy
Genre: Travel / Outdoors / Swimming
Publisher: The University of Texas Press
Date of Publication: May 16, 2017
Number of Pages: 240, 100 color photos
Scroll down for Giveaway! Continue reading “Blog Tour – The Swimming Holes of Texas”
Stacking the Shelves – June 3
Hello there! Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews. Usually a weekly meme, mine pop up on a monthly basis. These are the books I’ve acquired since the May edition.
Bought
A Space Girl from Earth (The Kyroibi Trilogy Book 1) by Christina McMullen
The Extraction List by Renee N. Meland
The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
The Legacy Human (Singularity Series Book 1) by Susan Kaye Quinn
Borrowed
Managed by Kristen Callihan
Sweet Southern Trouble by Michele Summers
Craving by Helen Hardt
Unbreakable by Kami Garcia, audiobook [Review]
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, audiobook
Beastly Bones by Will Ritter
Free-Wrench by Joseph R. Lallo, audiobook
Starflight by Melissa Landers
Won/Gifted/ARC
Before the Rain Falls by Camille Di Maio [Review]
Breakfast in Texas by Terry Anderson [Review]
Blood Oath and Badlands by Melissa Lenhardt
Heart on the Line by Karen Witemeyer
Blog Tour & Review – Breakfast in Texas
BREAKFAST IN TEXAS
by
Terry Thompson-Anderson
Genre: Cookbook / Southwest Cuisine
Publisher: The University of Texas Press
Date of Publication: April 18, 2017
Number of Pages: 312
Books in the Garden 