Review of The Girls of Mischief Bay by Susan Mallery

Summary

Nicole Lord has always been the loving wife and mother who owned her own business and had great group of friends that she could always count on. However, that all changes when her husband up and quits his job to purse his dream of writing a screen play. Now the pressure of supporting the whole family on her income and taking care of their child is all put on Nicole. Will Nicole's marriage be able to survive this change?

Shannon Rigg has always put her life in the following order: work, family then love life. However, that all changes when she gets to thinking what if she could have more. So she joins a dating website in hopes of finding more than a one night stand. Little does she know that she just might her own prince charming. However, with all good things there is a catch and that is her dream guy has two kids. Will Shannon be able to connect with his kids? Is forever in the cards for Shannon and her new boyfriend?

Pam Eiland has everything that a woman could ask for a loving husband, beautiful kids, a gorgeous home and adorable dog. However, Pam feels unsettled and that something is missing. She wonders is there more out there for her to experience or is this all she will ever have??

Can all three women find their happy ending? Sometimes they say the best family out there are our bestfriends who always have your back.


My Review:

This is the first story in the Mischief Bay series by Susan Mallery. To be honest after reading a couple chapters I was a little worried that I was not going to like the book. I think that Susan did a great job of developing the characters and setting the scene, however, I felt initially there were too many stories going on at once. It was hard to keep track of who was who and what story belonged to what because they seemed to be all intertwined. I think that once I got 1/4 of the way in I felt more comfortable deciphering whose story belonged to what character.

In regards to setting of the location and scenery of the book I think Susan did a great job of making you feel like you were part of the town.

Lastly, I think Susan did a great job of creating a emotionally gripping book. She did a great job of showing realistic emotions and responses to the problems that the characters were having. It is always nice when the authors do this because it helps the reader connect to the book if it is more realistic.

I would recommend this book to both fiction and romance readers. It has love, friendship, family and heartbreak. I am very interested to see where Susan takes this series.

Review of Lone Star Survivor by Colleen Thompson

Summary Courtesy of Goodreads:

"A soldier's memories are more dangerous than anything he's encountered in the line of duty..

"Killed in action" a year ago, US Army captain Ian Rayford shocks everyone when he stumbles half-dead onto his family's Texas ranch. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, Ian can barely remember his relatives. His former fiancée, a psychologist specializing in PTSD, arrives to help Ian recover. But not everyone wants her to unearth the dangerous secrets he's carrying.

Now engaged to another man, Dr. Andrea Warrington fights her feelings for Ian even as she helps him remember how much they once loved each other. Yet the closer Ian gets to his past, the more someone else has to ensure the treacherous truth stays buried."

My Review: 

Being a fan of both mystery and romance I thought that this romantic suspense by Colleen Thompson would be a great first read of the Harlequin Romantic Suspense series. Colleen did a great job of setting the scene and really grabbing the attention of the reader from the start with how she introduced Ian in to the book. In addition, I really liked that she made the story realistic and true to what a veteran/prisoner of war would be like after they return to the U.S. 

The other part of the book that I really enjoyed of course was the romance in the story and how she had it start out as friendship and build to something more by the end. By building up the romance from the beginning to the end she kept you hooked as a romance reader because you wanted to see how Ian and Andrea's story ended up. 

Lastly, the part that I think Colleen wrote the best was the suspense in the book. I felt it was interesting and realistic which is sometimes where mystery authors can go overboard and lose the realness of a story. Lastly, my favorite part of the book was all the twist and turns she had. For being such a small book she did a great job of creating a well rounded story that I did not want to end. I would have to say that this is one of my favorite mystery/romance/suspense that I have read so far in the past two years. 

Can't wait to read more of Colleen's books!