Friday, March 29, 2013

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate

(Image courtesy of Google)

 This was my first book by Lisa Wingate, and it was just okay. I received the book free in order to review it, or else I might not have bothered finishing it. The beginning was a tad unbelievable (know someone a month, marry them, and move across the country???). Then we're given all this backstory, and it was just boring. I think the story could've been improved a lot if it hadn't been written in first person. The rest of the characters weren't fleshed out enough, especially Daniel considering he was her husband.
But, I will say it picked up eventually. Lisa Wingate is AWESOME at describing environments. I think I would enjoy her style if the story wasn't in first person. Also, it finally gets really interesting....and then it's over. Way too rushed ending. I was like, "Huh? That's it?".
Overall, it's an okay read. I might read another one from this series if I find it cheap.
I'll still give this author another shot.
Backcover Blurb:
Mallory Hale's life quickly veers off course when she falls hopelessly in love. After a whirlwind romance, Mallory finds herself leaving the bustle and action of Capitol Hill for the remote town of Moses Lake, Texas--with husband, stepson, and a U-Haul in tow.

A sweet, mishap-filled journey into marriage, motherhood, and ranch living ensues, and Mallory is filled with both the wonderment of love and the insecurities of change. But what she can't shake is the unease she feels around her husband's new boss, Jack West. Jack's presence--and his mysterious past--set her on edge, and when hints of a scandal emerge, Mallory finds herself seeking answers . . . and comes to realize that the middle-of-nowhere home she wasn't sure she wanted is the very place she'll risk everything to save.

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

The Tutor's Daughter by Julie Klassen

(Image courtesy of Google)


 I have read all but one of Julie Klassen's books, and her latest is my favorite. The Tutor's Daughter has the perfect mix of suspense and romance. The setting is incredible. Have you ever read Northanger Abbey? This story reminded me of that one.
It tells the tale of Emma Smallwood, the tutor's daughter, who only wanted to help her father by moving with him to the home of two boys who need education. But the home also belongs to two men, one who plagued her childhood...
I loved the mystery of this book.
I loved Emma.
I'll probably reread this one soon.
Backcover Blurb:
Emma Smallwood, determined to help her widowed father when his boarding school fails, accompanies him to the cliff-top manor of a baronet and his four sons. But soon after they arrive and begin teaching the two younger boys, mysterious things begin to happen. Who does Emma hear playing the pianoforte at night, only to find the music room empty? And who begins sneaking into her bedchamber, leaving behind strange mementoes?
The baronet's older sons, Phillip and Henry Weston, wrestle with problems--and secrets--of their own. They both remember the studious Miss Smallwood from their days at her father's academy. But now one of them finds himself drawn to her. . .
Filled with page-turning suspense, The Tutor's Daughter takes readers to the windswept Cornwall coast--a place infamous for shipwrecks and superstitions--where danger lurks, faith is tested, and romance awaits
***