4/5 Review: Hearth Song (Home In The Hills) by Lois Greiman

Bravura Lambert has a daughter to raise, a tumbledown house to restore, and a struggling business to run. She doesn't have time to cry over a husband who only shows up when he needs money. She also doesn't need Tonk Redhawk, a Native American artist and wild horse jockey, interfering in her life. So what if he's charming and helpful and makes her autistic five-year-old giggle until she can't stand up? Bravura's husband, Dane, was once all those things too.

When Dane returns to find Tonk's horses in Bravura's pasture and his tools in her shed, he insists on moving back home. Despite his faults, Bravura longs to make her marriage work--after all, she took a vow. But then Dane does the unthinkable, forcing Bravura to finally face the truth about her choices--and about how deeply Tonk cares for her. Once she opens her eyes, she just may be able to open her heart. . .

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As a first-time reader of Ms.Greiman, I have to say I really enjoyed it. It's quick, light reading but yet has enough meat and substance to keep the reader from feeling they just consumed massive amounts of fluff. There are a couple of plot twists that keep this story from being all starlight and sunshine plus the writing is good enough to be competitive with other writers. Also this book is #2 in a series.

This story is beautifully written. The author does a great job in writing the characters....Bravura Lambert has a five year old autistic daughter Lily and a husband Dane, who she has not seen since he left for a job out of town a year ago. Without telling her Dane decides to just come back home and Bravura is not happy about it but he is her husband and so tries to make the best of it.You truly feel for Vura and want her to stand up to Dane, who is truly an evil man. My favorite character in the story is Tonk Redhawk, a man who is fighting against demons of his own and still manages to be a good man.


Based upon this book, I will be looking to read more from this author. My only issue is that the overall story has to many details of his misdeeds and of his need to lie her time after time.From my perspective, I really didn't like that he was so willing to not be honest with the woman he is supposed to love. There was enough romance to keep it interesting, but the relationships and struggles of the characters are what made it - she did a great job of getting inside the characters and making the reader feel what the characters were feeling.Books like this often have plot twists - sometimes the author gets it right - sometimes not. In this case, not only does Lois Greiman get's it right, she turns it up a notch. I don't want to give away the surprise at the end, because it really create a very creative and powerful ending; but if you like a story that twists you in a dozen turns before arriving at a satisfying conclusion, this is a book for you.

3/5 Review: The Sweetheart Deal by Polly Dugan

Leo has long joked that, in the event of his death, he wants his best friend Garrett, a lifelong bachelor, to marry his wife, Audrey. One drunken night, he goes so far as to make Garrett promise to do so. Then, twelve years later, Leo, a veteran firefighter, dies in a skiing accident.

As Audrey navigates her new role as widow and single parent, Garrett quits his job in Boston and buys a one-way ticket out west. Before long, Audrey's feelings for Garrett become more than platonic, and Garrett finds himself falling for Audrey, her boys, and their life together in Portland. When Audrey finds out about the drunken pact from years ago, though, the harmless promise that brought Garrett into her world becomes the obstacle to his remaining in it.

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I honestly didn't know what to rate this book. It was so beautifully rendered in places and had so much truth in parts that I feel like it deserved four or five stars. But in the end I felt Dugan kept us at a distance from the characters and I wasn't emotionally invested in any of them. They were each so miserable in their own way that it gave me no chance to learn to like them. Dugan’s depiction of grief was pretty powerful, especially from Audrey’s perspective and the heartbreaking scene with Audrey unable to even get dressed shows me what this book could have been and what the characters could have meant to me. But in the end, I didn't care if these characters lived or died, were miserable or happy. This book was like looking at a piece of black and white abstract art. I thought it was beautiful and can understand why people like it, perhaps even love it, but I wouldn't want it hanging in my house. I just couldn't make friends with this book. That being said, I would be willing to give Dugan another try in a heartbeat. So for me the book was just okay.

5/5 Review: The Word Game by Steena Holmes

For overprotective parent Alyson Ward, any time her daughter, Lyla, is out of sight is reason to panic. So it’s a big step for her when she lets Lyla attend a sleepover at her cousin’s house. Comforted by the knowledge that her sister, Tricia, is the chaperone, Alyson does the one thing she never thought possible: she lets go and trusts that her daughter will be safe.
But Alyson’s sense of peace is short lived. When Lyla comes home the next morning, she reveals something that could tear apart not only their family but also the entire community. Now, Alyson and Tricia must confront their painful shared past as they come together to help a little girl who they fear might be harboring terrible secrets similar to their own. Will the sisters be strong enough to face their demons in order to protect the child, even if it means telling their most private truths?

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This story is told from the points of view of four different women. You have Alyson-she is a helicopter mom, than you have Tricia,Aly's sister who is more laid back in her parenting style, you also have Tricia and Aly's mom Ida who believes family problems stay in the family, last but not least there is Tricia's best friend Myah-who is soon to be divorced and a single mom again. All of these women have a story to share.

What would you do if you suspected that a child was being abused? What about, if you had been abused as a child and people may think its your paranoia?
All these questions I had while reading this book. And while I can't say that I have any answers, I have to admit that this has definitely got me thinking.
I would recommend this book to everyone. When an author can handle a difficult subject matter with such sensitivity, they are a very gifted writer. This novel touched my heart and could be the beginning for so many survivors.

The dynamics of this family are quite complicated. Their relationships are strained and there is obviously some painful issues in their past that they have not dealt with completely. Things that will affect how they each deal differently with what is happening right now. Like most of Holmes's previous books, this novel's real gift to the reader is the development of character. While the horizon of the story is relatively clear from the start, the plot is enhanced one hundred fold by the intricacies of the people about whom the story is written. Perhaps what I find most engaging about Holmes's work, and likewise this book, is that there is always at least one character with whom I can easily identify - making the reading of the text much more interesting.

5/5 Review: Having Her Boss's Baby by Maureen Child

Billionaire game designer Brady Finn's latest business plan doesn't include a feisty Irish lass who challenges him at every turn. But Aine Donovan, the stunning manager of the hotel he just purchased, is as determined to prevent Brady from ruining tradition as Brady is to have her in his bed. When a no-strings fling leads to an unexpected pregnancy, Aine runs from her sexy, stubborn boss. What Brady doesn't know won't hurt him, right? But Brady won't give up on claiming her—and their child—so easily…

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This is my first book by Maureen Child. I adored it! It's a sweet little romance that has nothing dark or dreary it was refreshing.

Brady and his team buy a castle in Ireland, to turn into a theme hotel that goes along with their video game empire. Brady requests that Aine, the young woman that has been managing the hotel come to his offices in California to discuss the changes that are forthcoming. Aine, reluctantly travels to the other side of the earth, knowing the one thing that will not happen is turning her castle into a tacky theme park.

When she arrives and isn't met by Brady she is instantly enraged and feels disrespected. So, being the fiery Irish lass that she is the sparks start to fly immediately. The business woman in her knows that she should ignore the feelings that she starts to have for Brady, but the woman in her doesn't want to be denied.

Brady, is a man in control. He doesn't do relationships and having never known a family of his own, doesn't know how to love. The two fight the attraction for as long as possible and then boom! The clothes fly and caution is thrown to the wind. After, what she feels is another rejection she returns to the castle in Ireland to oversee the renovations and move on with her life. Well, she soon finds out that that night left her with a little something else (a baby!). 

When Brady relises that Aine is having his baby, he is hurt and tries to make amends and do his duty. Aine is having none of it. If she can't have his love she doesn't want his money or his duty as a father. I loved watching things develop and seeing how Brady matures and how Aine shows him that he is much more a man then he thinks he is.

Ms. Child's tale of castle's and Ireland are lovely. It's obvious she has done her research on the area and being a bit of a gamer in my youth it was fun to see what goes into making and developing games as well. I can't wait to read the next in the series. If you are in the market for a light HEA Romance then this one is a keeper