CentralEast2

 I really love the world this book takes you into.  The storyline and the characters are fascinating.  I like seeing how Prince Alexander learned to do things his way, but also came to decisions that had to be made.  His sister Ellynn had to figure out how things worked in this new era, but she has to work on exactly how she does it. A great read full of interesting characters and a great storyline.  I also enjoyed learning about some new characters as well catching up with some old.

  Holly is getting ready for the most wonderful time of the year.  Her inn and business is booming and they have all kinds of great things planned.  Her wedding plans are coming right along she is getting ready for the big day.  Of course things cannot go as planned as there is a murder and Holly is determined to get it cleared up before her big day,  I love the atmosphere of this book and the things that come up as Holly works to solve the mystery and still go about her normal routine. 

 Trevor is determined to find his sister and he enlist the help of pilot Carrie James to help. The must put their skills to use to figure out where to look based on a few pictures.  Carrie also has her own grief to deal with and decides to use Trevor to help her to find justice for her friend.  I loved the twists and turns as they both had to deal with facing the truth and and overcoming obstacles.  A great suspenseful read.  

 We now the story of Felicity in the Cowgirl series.  The family has gotten the boarding house back and Felicity cannot do it alone.  She needs help and finds it in an unlikely place.  I liked seeing the story of Felicity and Philip and how their relationship evolved.  There is much intrigue and hidden dangers involved and the book was a real page turner.   Love this series and keeping up with the characters of all the books in the series. 

 The Cowgirl series continues with the story of Courtney sister Patience.  She has to leave their boardinghouse and now has to find a new way to survive.  She winds up out at the ranch of Spencer Wolcott.  They come to an agreement.   I liked how the story progressed and the relationship between Patience and Spencer.  I liked how they had to work around all the issues that arise and the growing connection between them. 

      The Colorado Cowboys series continues with the story of Charity.  Charity is trying to make it on her own by running a boardinghouse.  She is trying to provide for her younger sisters but is having a hard time making a go of it.  Hudson Vanderwater becomes aware that she is having trouble making ends meet and helps her out by renting out the boarding house.  Charity is grateful for it but has a hard time acclimating to her new boss.  As the become more acquainted, more comes to the surface about what is really going on.  A good read and I look forward to the next book in the series. 

 This book tells the story of Astrid Nilsson.  She has become a doctor and has returned to Colorado and teams up with Logan Steele to work as a doctor with him.  I enjoyed following the story as the two team up in more ways than one.  Astrid is eager to practice medicine, but is not so sure about working with and courting Logan to make it happen.  As the story progresses the work though many obstacles and eventually find the pathway that is right for both of them.  Look forward to the next book in the series.  

 Roxy loves to gossip and the Coffee Shop is the best place to do it.  She soon finds herself using those gossip skills to try to solve the murder of a real estate agent. No one is fan of his latest project and he soon finds himself dead.  Roxy has to sort through the clues to see who had a motive to kill him as it turns out he had more than one bad deal going on. 

  The Waters of Time series continues with the story of Dawson and Philippa.  Dawson  find out the secret of what happened to his sister and he begins to search for the holy water to reconnect with her.  He has discovered that it has the power to allow others to travel in time.  While in the Middle Ages he connects with Philippa and decides to stay and marry her.  It was interesting to see all the events that happened to allow them to connect and to try to stay together as the holy water only works so much and one has to be careful with both the past and present.  

Tapestry of Grace tells the story of the town of Alexandertol, Kansas' creation of a benevolent society to care for German widows and orphans.  They learned about it after hearing about it from a town in New York.  Augusta is glad for the new endeavor as school is on break for a short time and she needs something to occupy her time.  Martina also is glad to be involved as it will give her a break from her family.  There winds us being unexpected blessings from this endeavor for not only those involved but those who are on the receiving end of the help.  A great story of coming together. 

  Rebecca is determined to right a wrong and goes about doing it with the help of Librarian Mark.  She is a part of murder trial where she feels the wrong person was convicted and feels it is her duty to set things right.  She can't do it by her self but finds herself teaming up with the Mark to make it happen.   As the work to figure things out they get to know each other better. She helps him to see that just because he didn't follow in the path his dad wanted him to that it did not make him a bad person.  They begin to become closer to each other as they work to find out what really happened. A great start to a new series and I enjoyed the narrator .

  This book is based on a series of true stories.  It tells the story of friends who joined the military to find a better life.  After joining, things seemed to be ok but when the war really started to ramp up they saw more than they ever thought that they ever expected.  The friends stuck together and worked at helping each other to survive in more ways than one.  The horrors they saw and things they had to endure could only happen with the help of each other.        I was aware of many of the things that went on during WWII but it is always interesting to see it from a first person point of view.  A story you will definitely want to schedule time to finish

  A very suspenseful book in the Defend and Protect series.  Zane is living his dream as a Special Agent who gets to help protect the president.  He works at setting up security at events the president will attend.  As the president plans a trip to Raleigh, NC  he get work again with Tessa.  She has worked hard to get where she is, but this trip could set her back.  Zane wants the best for her and they have to work together to keep the president safe.  A real page turner.

  Mallory decides to remodel the tourist shop that her grandmother left her.  She has done what she can to make it a great store and is thrilled when she gets a chance to be a part of a TV show to help make the store even better.  She is unsure though if she still wants to be a part of it once she learns all the details. She also still has someone wanting the property and has to work out the hard decisions to decide what is best for her all around.

 Mae finds herself with her hands full.  She is trying to finalize wedding plans and keep the Happy Trails Campground running smoothly.  Another dead body is found in the town and Dottie winds up being one of the main suspects.  Mae and the rest of the Laundry Club Ladies know that Dottie is not responsible and go out to find who else the bounty hunter could have ticked off.  They will have to go undercover to see what is going on and to find the killer before it is too late. 

  Brianna feels tied to Ballymacool House and Boarding House.  She has worked there a long time and decides to try to make more of herself.  She decides to go exploring and runs across a few bits of buried treasure.  When she finds a platter she decides to find out the story behind it and turns to Michael to help her find its story and what the future holds. 

  Ashley Scott finds herself in Hope Harbor trying to start over.  She meets Jonathan who helps her out with this new adventure.  As the two of them work on her property and new ideas they begin to grow closer.  Here’s to hoping of new lives and new loves. 

 It's Easter  and the town is in full swing with their Hip Hop Hurray Easter Festival.  Unfortunately Violet has stumbled across another dead body.  She has to sort through who might be responsible before it puts a permanent damper on the holiday.  She has to decide if it is someone who is involved in the bake-off or something else is at play.  Another great turn of events . 

      Gemma and Cassie find themselves with a chance to spend time at a Scottish Castle. Cassie is teaching an art class and Gemma comes along to explore the country and the castle.  She also hopes to get to spend some time in the castle kitchen to learn some new food ideas.  Of course everything does not go as planned and soon they find themselves caught up in another mystery.        One of the castle workers ends up dead and Gemma wants to know what happens.  She gets help from the "Old Biddies" and Muesli does her part as well.  No tearoom mystery would be complete without an appearance from them.       Another great mystery and love to see what happens and where they appear next. 

 The Cowboy series continues with the story of Dylan.  He has turned his life around but before he did so he left behind somethings that need to be cleared up.  One of them is a child.   Catherine comes out west to escape unwarranted charges and to reunite a father with his son.  When she gets there she has become very attached to the baby and does not want to leave him.  She tries to make things right and clear up some misunderstandings, but things get out of hand pretty quick.    Along with a new family, Dylan is also trying to keep the peace in his town while still fighting the demons he left behind.  He is doing his best to show that he belongs as sheriff even though several things keep coming up that is putting his job in jeopardy.     I liked seeing some of the characters from the other books in the series to see how their lives are going and am sad to see the series end. 

  Mae and the Laundry Ladies find themselves with a new case.  The owner of a local attraction is found dead and Mae and the ladies are more than happy to put their skills to use trying to find out who is responsible.  They go through several suspects and have to keep on their toes to not become the next victims.  A  real page turner.  

      Autumn takes her duties as police chief seriously and when a series of events causes trouble in her small Alaskan town she draws on the help of Grier who knows how to handle such a situation.  Grant has left his old life behind but feels drawn to help Autumn out even though it could cause trouble for both of them.  Each day as the draw closer to finding out what is really going on they  must depend on each other even more.       I really liked the characters in this book and it had enough twists and turns to keep you reading.  I look forward to seeing what happens next in this series.  

  Holiday Junction is celebrating New Year's Eve.  They have their annual traditions that the town loves, but of course there is a murder to put a damper on things.  Hillary Stevens is found dead and it is up to Violet to find out what happened so that the town can go back to celebrating.  Violet has to do this while keeping up the pretense as to her own role in the town's celebration.  Full of mystery and will keep you guessing. 

  Mary Margaret Miller feel the need to get away from her community to let some issues die down and to just not have to deal with the others in the community who are not lifting her up as they should.  She decides to go to another community in Pinecraft, Florida and takes the bus there on her own.  On the way she meet some others going to the same place and they decide to stick together and enjoy their vacation together.   While there she meets some other people including Jayson Raber who she feels she has a connection to.  Soon though things from both of their pasts come out that puts a damper on their vacation and blooming friendship.  They both will have to look hard into their lives to see what will happen next. 

     h Tis has been a great series as each book focuses on one of four girls who became friends at an early age and now help each other out when things get crazy.  Each one has taken a job that can be tied back to their past.       In Critical Threat, FBI Special Agent, Grace Billingsley uses her skills to track down serial killers.  She winds up teaming up with Sam Monroe who works as a  psychiatrist   a local prison to solve a recent string of killings.  They realize that their worlds are tied together more than they realized as the clues start coming together and linking their worlds more and more.  They will have to learn how to work together and around their pasts if they want to stop the killer .

 I really enjoyed the story of Ruth.  After being injured, Ruth has to come to grips with her new way of life.  She tries various ways some that work and others not as she expected.  She also has to work with Frank the head chef and Owen the manager of the El Tovar, the hotel she works at to find out who is trying to sabotage the hotel.   I liked seeing how Ruth evolved over the course of the story.  She really had to come to grips with not only some things that happened in her life, but with things that were going on all around her.  Her interactions with the other characters make you want to both cheer for her and give her a nudge in the right direction.  I also had the opportunity to listen to this book and felt that the narrator did a great job.