Summary:

Molly Murphy—Molly Sullivan, now that she and Daniel are finally married—is bored. Having given up her detective agency when she married, she now finds that her life is much less exciting, her days an endless stretch of housekeeping and chores. But when Molly secretly attends a suffragist meeting with her friends Sid and Gus and meets a shy, distracted woman who claims to live in a haunted house, everything is about to change.

Review:

Now I understand why the Molly Murphy mystery series is so popular. This was a short story, but long enough for me to really like Molly and want to read more in the series (unlike The Amersham Rubies story that was really much ado about nothing). Molly has enough charm and manners to mingle with the upper crust, but also has enough street smarts to get information she needs to resolve the cases. The story is only six chapters, but was enough to whet my appetite for more reading. 4 stars.

5 stars

To Tame A Dragon (The Reluctant Brides Collection #2) by Megan Bryce (historical romance)

True Love and Other Disasters (The Chinooks #3) by Rachel Gibson (contemporary romance)

4.0 - 4.5 stars

New Spirits: Americans in the "Gilded Age" 1865-1905 by Rebecca Edwards (historical non-fiction)

Lucy and the Valentine Verdict (Dusty Deals #4.5) by Rae Davies (cozy mystery)

3.0 - 3.5 stars

The St Valentine's Day Cookie Massacre (A Harrett Grove Mystery Short Story) by Elisabeth Crabtree (cozy mystery)

To Catch a Spinster (The Reluctant Brides Collection #1) by Megan Bryce (historical romance)

2.0 - 2.5 stars

Domestically Tamed (Exotic Locales Series #2) by Sarah Vicks (historical romance)

1.0 - 1.5 stars

Suddenly Tamed (Exotic Locales Series #1) by Sarah Vicks (historical romance)

0 stars-.5 star

Rescue Me: A Valentine's Day Short Story by Serena Bell (contemporary romance)

Love Finds You in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California (Love Finds You Series) by Sandra Bricker (contemporary romance)

Hearts on Fire by Bree Roberts (contemporary romance)

Sisters in Love (Love in Bloom Book #1) by Melissa Foster (contemporary romance)

Continuing Reads

Snow on the Tulips by Liz Tolsma (Literary Fiction)

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (Classic Fiction)

Summary:

"Sisters in Love" is a steamy contemporary romance with alpha male heroes and sexy, empowered women. They're flawed, funny, passionate, and very relatable for readers who enjoy new adult romance, contemporary romance, and women's fiction.

Voted BEST BOOK SERIES of 2013 by Supportive Business Moms, UK

Danica Snow has always been the smart, practical, and appropriate sister. As a therapist, she prides herself on making reasonable, conservative choices, even if a bit boring, and as part of the Big Sister Program, she has little time for anything more in her life.

Blake Carter is a player. He never gets bored of conquering women, and with his sexy good looks and successful lifestyle, he has no trouble finding willing participants. When his friend and business partner dies in a tragic accident, he suddenly, desperately, wants to change his ways. The problem is, he doesn’t know how to stop doing what he does best.

When Blake walks into Danica’s office, the attraction between them is white hot, but Danica isn't the type to give into the heat and risk her career. Danica’s desire sets her on a path of self-discovery, where she begins to question every decision she’s ever made. Just this once, Danica wants to indulge in the pleasures of life she’s been so willingly ignoring, but with her Little Sister in turmoil and her biological sister’s promiscuousness weighing heavily on her heart, she isn’t sure it’s the right time to set her desires free.

Review:

I made it through this shit and deserve a medal for not having my sanity lost. It's hard to decided where to begin my review of this book - do I start with a hero that this a dude bro of the skiing variety who has sex in a bathroom with a random ski shop customer and doesn't bother with finding out her name OR do I start with a heroine that is a therapist because her parents' wanted her to be but she has so many damn mental and emotional hang ups that she could use a good shrink herself?

Maybe I should start with the fact that there is a cast of characters that are so fucked up in the head that this book clearly lives up to the blurb's "new adult romance" even though they are in their late twenties and mid-thirties? Or should I start with the constant binge-drinking and so casual sex that no one can have an actual relationship - in a romance novel? These men and women are not sex positive - they are over-sexed (not addicted to sex, just ruled by their damn hormones) to the point of eye rolling.

No I think I will start this review with how nasty our heroine, Danica, is about her chosen profession and how she is the worst therapist to the point of being dangerous. She enters a sexual relationship with her client (Blake) and eventually decides to give up her license so she can have her rocking orgasms. But prior to hopping into bed with a client, she often would fantasize about having sex with her client during his therapy sessions so much she wasn't listening fully to what his issues were (and there were a lot of them). She was so damn unprofessional! But she wouldn't refer him to another therapist, because she felt she was the best therapist in town/county/state and her pride wouldn't let her.

Then she started fantasizing about Blake while holding sessions with other clients, not giving them her full attention. Yet, we are told over and over again how competent she is - but to me she is a piss poor therapist who is basically a con artist she sucks so much at her job. And the whole situation with her "Little Sister" Michelle just proves again that Danica shouldn't be a therapist, she should be seeing one. Also, I am so over characters/real-life people who are in their late twenties who worry about aging and getting "old" and/or "fat." If these people are that shallow at 29, they are going to be obnixous at 39. Get your shit together and lay off the large amounts of alcohol.

0 stars and I am not going to bother with other Foster book I have in the queue. Both books are being deleted from my NOOK library pronto and I will avoid this author in the future.

At the 50% mark and now it is full on hate reading. Going to be more ranting than reviewing when I am done. Wondering if I should cut my losses now and delete the other Foster book I have waiting in the queue OR read it so that I know for sure not to read anything else by this author.

Summary:

A mysterious outsider casts a long shadow on Ohio’s Amish country. Policewoman Rachel Troyer has always looked after her three elderly Amish aunts, proprietors of a farmhouse inn near Sugarcreek, Ohio. The idyllic town is popular with tourists, who come to sample its famous Amish goods. But one thing is clear to Rachel—Joe Matthews is no tourist. When the bearded stranger lands on her aunts' doorstep, begging shelter for himself and his young son, Rachel is suspicious. Will she be able to uncover Joe’s secrets despite her aunts'—and her own—growing affection for him?   

 Review:

This is a hard book to review, as I was on a rollercoaster of feelings toward and about the story and the characters. The Amish characters were well drawn people, and I honestly want a book about one of Rachel's Amish aunt - Bertha sounds like she has such stories to share about her time working as a nurse in an orphanage in Haiti! Anna, another of Rachel aunts, has Down Syndrome, but she is treated with respect and dignity by her community as well as close outsiders. Finally, the third aunt, Lydia, was widowed but without children; her relationship with Rachel was the most fragile.

Rachel's father grew up Amish, but chose not to join the church and instead, became a police officer and married an English woman. Rachel followed in his footsteps, but her upbringing in both worlds help move the plot along. Rachel was a complicated character - I loved her protectiveness and love for elderly aunts, then I was very turned off by her over-the-top bitchiness and paranoia over what Joe was hiding. Then she got her act together (courtesy in small part due to a conversation with her boss telling her she gets control over herself or she will be fired), opened herself and her mind up to Joe and his son - seems like the Rachel from beginning of the story. Then Rachel finds out Joe's secret, and defends him and his son like the most awesome warrior. Seriously, half the rollercoaster ride was my dis/connection with Rachel.

Joe and his son were great. I like that Joe was smart about him and Bobby going underground - it was not over the top at all. There was a point though that the heavy handed religious tone came from Joe, a preacher/missionary kid. In fact, for me the religious tone got to uncomfortable levels at a few points in the book; some of those levels came from Joe's opinion about his recently murdered wife in comparison with Rachel. I also didn't like that Joe could fall that easily in love with Rachel with his dead wife's murder case open investigation. I would have preferred a strong happy for now ending between two friends than the happy ever after found in the epilogue. Bobby was four and suffered traumatically with the loss of his mom. His regression and progress was realistic.

I would recommend this book if you like Amish stories or if you are a strong believer in Christianity (Protestant evangical specifically). 4 stars.