If You’ll Have Me by Esther Hatch

 

If You'll Have Me by Esther Hatch

Let’s begin with the summary: 

A lady desperately seeking freedom. A prosperous younger man. An unexpected connection. 

Anna Atwood returns to Breckenridge, where she spent one blissful summer as a young woman. This time, though, she comes to the quaint town as a penniless spinster with a single hope: to build a life free from the constraints her father’s death put on her and free from the persistent suitor Mr. Green, whose plans for marriage are Anna’s worst nightmare. When she runs into David Tate, the boy she knew from that memorable summer, she finds he has grown into a confident and striking man. As they rekindle their friendship, David offers her warmth and protection in the moment she needs it most—when Mr. Green appears in town and threatens to destroy Anna’s carefully laid plans. 

David Tate remembers Anna as the spirited woman who once brought light into his dark childhood. Now a man of means, he has a promising future, if he can withstand the powerful Lord Murphy—a man whose menacing hold on the town he owns is surpassed only by his relentless hold on David’s life. When David meets Anna again, he realizes he has a chance to save her from Mr. Green’s schemes, even if it means putting himself in danger of Lord Murphy’s wrath and revealing his own deepest secrets. 

In a moment of desperation, David and Anna agree to a proposal of convenience to provide the safety they both need. But as their attraction ignites, the looming dangers from Lord Murphy and Mr. Green threaten to destroy their budding happiness. 

And now, my review: 

I loved this Proper Romance novel! It’s one of my favorites I’ve read in a long time.

There's fun humor from the first pages. The romantic element was well written, wholesome, and delightful. I laughed aloud over a couple of antics. 

These characters are very well designed. They're good for each other, trading off protective, selfless deeds for the other.

Our heroine carries the weight of her family’s future on her shoulders as she must provide for her widowed mother. Anna is strong and noble and not always correct in her guesswork about others' thoughts, especially the hero's. She's willing to make sacrifices, which makes her heroic. We root for her even as we worry what level of sacrifice she'll have to make.

Our hero has pined for her our unreliable narrator heroine forever. It’s fun watching him long for her, and remained determined to protect her. David's immediately likable. We know he's been through something, yet he is kind and gentle-spirited. He puts the villain in his place, again and again. Bravo!

I liked the jabs at modern creepiness with well-worded prose. David calls out Mr. Green for being a perv, wanting to marry someone half his age. The morally upright characters show Mr. Green simple human decency, and he sees this as encouragement. Relatable. Modern. It's affirming to see that in an historical.

I liked how they solved the heroine’s problem and how they were strong and competent together. This book held my interest for the entire story. Now, I'm off to find more books by this author. 

Highly recommended!

You & Me for Real by Hayley Elliott

You & Me for Real by Hayley Elliott

This is Hayley’s debut novel, and I was thrilled when she included me in her early reader group. I’d read her novelette in the A New Year’s Kiss anthology and loved it! The book releases August 14, 2025, and you can find it on Amazon and other retailers. 

Let’s begin with the summary:

She swore she’d never be in front of the camera again, but now she’s falling for a Hollywood heartthrob with a tabloid-worthy secret.

Former child reality star Ashton Reid is done with fame and dreams of a quiet life and finally opening her own animal rescue. But establishing a non-profit requires funding and, therefore, publicity. For Ashton, this means facing her crippling anxiety anytime a camera is pointed in her direction. Despite her best efforts to avoid all things Hollywood, when celebrity Griffin Ford rushes into her shelter carrying an injured dog—with his impossibly muscled arms and notorious abs—she’s helpless against those almond eyes. The dog's eyes, that is.

Actor Griffin Ford is desperate for his first meaningful role. Tired of being seen as nothing more than washboard abs on an angsty teen drama, he’s agreed to a fake relationship with his co-star to guarantee the lead in her father’s next movie. But when the contract requires more than he’s bargained for, he begins to question the future he always imagined. To take back some ownership of his life, Griffin adopts a new dog—despite being clueless about pet ownership.

Drawn to Ashton’s authenticity, Griffin recruits her to train his new rescue. In return, Griffin helps her navigate publicity and social media for her foundation. Outside the glow of Hollywood, it doesn’t take long for Ashton to see that Griffin is more than the hunk he portrays on TV. As their professional and personal lives intertwine and their attraction grows stronger, their chemistry becomes undeniable. But when the heat of the spotlight threatens to expose Ashton’s past and Griffin’s secret, the two must decide: fight for what’s real between them, or risk becoming another casualty of fame.

And now, my review:

The author kept me hooked with the way she withheld information and slowly caught us up with the heroine’s backstory. 

The hero is at war with himself. Should he sell out? Or stand up? There were times Griffin came across as rather immature in his business dealings, and he was rather talkative, open, and self-aware for the usual male POV. Then there were very solid moments of male POV that made Griffin breathe on the page. 

I liked the inclusion of the dogs, and the heroine’s competence with them will make readers respect her. One of the heroine’s challenges is she’s used to hiding. She prefers it. Now it’s time for her to come out of hiding. But as a child she wasn't permitted to set boundaries, and she didn’t have a voice. Moving forward into the kind of future she wants means overcoming all of that. 

Readers will root for this heroine as she works to face her past to make a more desirable future. And they’ll root for the hero to find his own strength and path. 

Overall, this is a strong debut and I recommend it for readers who are looking for a feel-good romance that includes celebrities and a Hollywood connection. 

Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham

Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham

Such an enjoyable Christmas read!

Here’s the summary:

Will the magic of Christmas bring these two newlyweds closer together, or will the ghosts of the past lead them into a destructive discovery from which not even a Dickens’s Christmas can save them?

Mistletoe is beautiful and dangerous, much like the woman from Lord Frederick’s Percy’s past, so when he turns over a new leaf and arranges to marry for his estate, instead of his heart, he never expects the wrong bride to be the right choice. Gracelynn Ferguson never expected to take her elder sister’s place as a Christmas bride, but when she’s thrust into the choice, she will trust in her faithful novels and overactive imagination to help her not only win Frederick’s heart but also to solve the murder mystery of Havensbrook Hall before the ghosts from Frederick’s past ruin her fairytale future.

And now, my review:

Pepper’s rich storytelling and strong prose immersed me into the story from the beginning. And that premise: the wrong bride is (somehow) the right choice! What a hook.

According to the hero, the heroine has "no reserve whatsoever." Ha! That’s enough to make him uncomfortable. She’s lively and unpredictable. He’s burdened by regrets and has allowed “the past to attach weights to the future.” Insightful lines like that pop up now and then like Christmas gifts to the reader.

The romantic thread is enjoyable, centered around books and fiction, and being the heroine or hero of your own story. The newlyweds' relationship must begin at the beginning, and it's fun watching their intimacy grow.

I appreciated how Pepper included symbolism throughout. Our heroine is very intelligent and strong. She’s courageous. Our hero carries the burdens of his role as a nobleman, but he’s kind, which draws her. She can see his heroic side, even if he can’t. She supports him in a beautiful way, and that thread felt like a takeaway for married readers.

One recurring thought moved me often as I read: I want to see this book made into a movie. The rich setting and prose, the characters, the romance—this story begs to be shown, played out.

I loved this novel! Highly recommended!  

A Castaway in Cornwall by Julie Klassen

A Castaway in Cornwall

Engaging and lovely cover, don't you think?

Let’s begin with the summary:

Set adrift on the tides of fate by the deaths of her parents and left wanting answers, Laura Callaway now lives with her uncle and his disapproving wife in North Cornwall. There she feels like a castaway, always viewed as an outsider even as she yearns to belong.

While wreckers search for valuables along the windswept Cornwall coast—known for its many shipwrecks but few survivors—Laura searches for clues to the lives lost so she can write letters to next of kin and return keepsakes to rightful owners. When a man is washed ashore after a wreck, Laura acts quickly to protect him from a local smuggler determined to destroy him.

As Laura and a neighbor care for the survivor, they discover he has curious wounds and, although he speaks in careful, educated English, his accent seems odd. Other clues wash ashore, and Laura soon realizes he is not who he seems to be. Despite the evidence against him, the mysterious man might provide her only chance to discover the truth about her parents' fate. With danger pursuing them from every side, and an unexpected attraction growing between them, will Laura ever find the answers she seeks?

And now, my review:

I was so excited that my library could provide an ebook copy a couple of days after this book’s release. They also offered a sample of the audio book. I listened and loved the narrator’s British accent and reading pace; she engaged my imagination. If you can find the book in audio, I recommend it. I chose the ebook version so I could see the spellings of unfamiliar locations in the British Isles as well as other word choices.

The beach setting is enjoyable, while hidden rocks and sheer cliffs cause multiple wrecks, bringing an underlying sense of tension and risk. With those layered elements, along with our heroine’s home life being tense at times, we find a sailor washed up on shore, unconscious and mysterious. I was hooked right away.

I liked the heroine’s courage, even when faced with the story’s villain. She bravely sets out to rescue and nurse the hero. Once he’s conscious again, he’s got secrets, and he doesn’t know whom to trust. I liked that he was honorable toward her and noble in his motives and decisions.

You’ll find historical accounts of kingdom conflicts, which showed strong research. I confess at times the story lost my interest. We had a strong launch in the novel, but unfortunately, it didn’t hold my curiosity past the 50 percent mark. I expected more of a romantic hook, but in its absence, I moved on to the next book in my TBR pile.

If you love rich retellings of history, set in fiction, you’ll enjoy this book.   

The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauck

The Fifth Avenue Story Society

What a lovely cover! A reader’s delight—shelves of books in a cozy room. An unexpected element? This novel is not a time-slip novel like Rachel's other recent books.

Let’s begin with the summary:

An invitation to join The Fifth Avenue Story Society gives five New York strangers a chance to rewrite their own stories.

Executive assistant Lexa is eager for a much-deserved promotion, but her boss is determined to keep her underemployed.

Literature professor Jett is dealing with a broken heart, as well as a nagging suspicion his literary idol, Gordon Phipps Roth, might be a fraud.

Uber driver Chuck just wants a second chance with his kids.

Aging widower Ed is eager to write the true story of his incredible marriage.

Coral, queen of the cosmetics industry, has broken her engagement and is on the verge of losing her great-grandmother’s multimillion-dollar empire.

When all five New Yorkers receive an anonymous, mysterious invitation to the Fifth Avenue Story Society, they suspect they’re victims of a practical joke. No one knows who sent the invitations or why. No one has heard of the literary society. And no one is prepared to reveal their deepest secrets to a roomful of strangers.

Yet curiosity and loneliness bring them back week after week to the old library. And it’s there they discover the stories of their hearts, and the kind of friendship and love that heals their souls.

And now, my review:

I like the premise of mysterious invitations to join a story society. At first, I thought it’d be a book club, but the objective is deeper than that. Picturing the setting of an old library made me want to grab a hot beverage, a throw, and curl up with this book.

Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses in this ensemble cast. I liked the multiple-POV approach. Rachel is always clear about whose POV we’re in, and her characters had distinct voices.

Though this wasn’t a time-slip novel, which I'd expected (I don't read back covers before reading books—too many spoilers), I was interested and invested. But I was interested and invested. The only downside was that we never go too deeply into any one character’s history. Because we’re spread over several, there isn’t page space.

Rachel kept me hooked through withholding information. There are plenty of secrets to learn about each person, and we unravel those as we read. She gave us enough info to both care about the characters and root for them.

As is her trademark, we have a supernatural element in the book. This novel would work well as a crossover as the God-element is subtle for three-quarters of the story. Her prose is often so insightful, I have to highlight it.

I loved watching the characters have victory. Through sharing their real struggles with each other, they find healing and their burdens lift. These varied folks find friendship. I enjoyed that theme. They also find courage to do what they need to do for those victories.

I'm always watching for Rachel's next book to release. She's a must-read for me. Whether it's a time-slip or not, I enjoy her distinct writing style.

Recommended.

The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason

 

The Brightest of Dreams by Susan Anne Mason

Let’s begin with the summary:

Quinten Aspinall is determined to fulfill a promise he made to his deceased father to keep his family together. To do so, he must travel to Canada to find his younger siblings, who were sent there as indentured workers while Quinn was away at war. He is also solicited by his employer to look for the man's niece who ran off with a Canadian soldier. If Quinn can bring Julia back, he will receive his own tenant farm, enabling him to provide a home for his ailing mother and siblings.

Julia Holloway's decision to come to Toronto has been met with disaster. When her uncle's employee rescues her from a bad situation, she fears she can never repay Quinn's kindness. So when he asks her to help find his sister, she agrees. Soon after, however, Julia receives some devastating news that changes everything.

Torn between reuniting his family and protecting Julia, will Quinn have to sacrifice his chance at happiness to finally keep his promise?

And now, my review:

Readers get to experience an adventure with our hero. His primary mission is recovering his siblings, but since he was also hired to find and bring home his employer’s niece, a beautiful, single adult near his own age, his mission is complicated.

I liked this author’s fresh, engaging prose and how she provided many allies. So often main characters don’t have enough allies to support them. The story’s pacing kept me reading, and we didn't lack for conflict in this layered story.

Though the hero was on a noble quest, he often came across as juvenile, extremely whiny, and self-absorbed. We never saw him outgrow this. His selfishness contrasted sharply with the heroine’s maturity. She’s used to serving others, not putting herself first. What surprised me was that she couldn’t see his immaturity. That didn’t seem quite believable.

As with many historicals, I did find a few instances of melodrama. Unfortunately, readers are left out when this happens. I also found a couple of instances of modern language in this historical, but I was reading the ARC, so that may have been changed in the final version. The writing in the final third of the story wasn't quite as strong as earlier. That's where the melodrama came in. And I found multiple uses of phrases involving "heated cheeks," which felt repetitive. Again, it's possible that was toned down to one or two in the final version.

The Chosen devotional by Amanda Jenkins, Kristen Hendricks, and Dallas Jenkins

The Chosen devotional

Whether or not you’ve watched the on-line series, readers will still find this devotional insightful and valuable.

Let’s begin with the summary:

Encounter Jesus the way his followers did.

Every follower of Jesus in the Gospels had a not-so-great ''before.'' A brash fisherman. A pious religious leader. A demon-possessed woman. A thieving tax collector. Christ's love saw beyond their brokenness and forgave. Jesus revolutionized the lives of those who followed Him.

And He's still doing it today.

Each of the forty devotions in The Chosen contains a Scripture, a unique look into a Gospel story, suggestions for prayer, and questions that lead you further in your relationship with Christ. See Jesus through the eyes of those who knew him best, and explore the backstories of people like Mary Magdalene, Peter, Matthew, Nicodemus, and more.

It's hard to relate to the sinless Son of God, but we can all identify with the sinners. You too can be transformed: Jesus sees past your ''before'' to the person He is creating you to be.

And now, my review:

I generally don’t review non-fiction, but I was grateful to receive this ARC (advanced reader copy). These authors take turns writing on different topics, using a Scripture for their base text. (Common for devotionals.) They share their insights with interesting writing voices. A lot of times with devos, the writer or publisher will include a prayer for readers to pray. That always seems controlling and presumptive. But with The Chosen devotional, the authors include possible prayer topics. That honors readers who can then consider the list of topics and approach God in their own words. I much prefer this method.

The authors use mostly gender inclusive language, which was ideal for a devotional about Jesus, considering how He treated women in the first century, not to mention how He relates with us today. I appreciated this choice so that no reader needs to feel left out.

I read this over weeks rather than the forty days the title alludes to. Readers won’t have to feel they need to finish it in forty days. These devotionals are “meaty” and readers may want to contemplate what they’ve read for more than a day before moving to the next one.

Overall, I highly recommend this devotional. Very well done.

Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep

Ladies of Intrigue by Michelle Griep

Let’s begin with the summary of this compilation:

The Gentleman Smuggler’s Lady
Cornish Coast, 1815
When a prim and proper governess returns to England from abroad, she expects to comfort her dying father—not fall in love with a smuggler. Will Helen Fletcher keep Isaac Seaton’s unusual secret?

The Doctor’s Woman
Dakota Territory, 1862
Emmy Nelson, daughter of a missionary doctor, and Dr. James Clark, city doctor aspiring to teach, find themselves working side by side at Fort Snelling during the Dakota Uprising. That is when the real clash of ideals begins.

A House of Secrets
St. Paul, Minnesota, 1890
Ladies Aide Chairman, Amanda Carston resolves to clean up St. Paul’s ramshackle housing, starting with the worst of the worst: a “haunted” house that’s secretly owned by her beau—a home that’s his only means of helping brothel girls escape from the hands of the city’s most infamous madam.

And now, my review:

The description may not be clear because it doesn't include previous publishing dates, but these are all repackaged books, so you may have read them in the past. I've noticed this pattern—repackaging older novellas into one volume, but not telling readers. That said, thankfully I hadn’t read any of these stories, so it was a good way to learn about her writing.

Full disclosure, I only read the first two in this novella collection. I found myself growing weary of the voice—the fact that there were a lot of overly told emotional reactions without the opportunity for readers to feel them along with the characters. Repeated melodramatic descriptions of cries “tearing from her throat,” etc. (cliché; melodrama; telling) There were POV issues as well. I noticed these issues in a more recent novel I read by this author, so I may not read more of her work for a while.

On the positive side, there were moments of strong, insightful prose. Some relatable conflicts—will the hero choose the future or the past? If he chooses vengeance, he is choosing to focus his energy on the past. If he chooses his future, he can focus ahead. Those are choices everyone must make.

I write and prefer reading contemporary romance, but sometimes it's fun to immerse myself in a historical world of formality and different customs. That's what I was hoping for with this collection. Though these stories didn't appeal to me, perhaps other readers will enjoy the escape these stories offer.

Daughters of the Northern Shore by Joanne Bischof

Daughters of the Northern Shore by Joanne Bischof

This is book two in the Blackbird Mountain series. I loved book one. Read my review here. 

Let’s begin with the summary:

Aven Norgaard understands courage. Orphaned within an Irish workhouse, then widowed at just nineteen, she voyaged to America where she was wooed and wed by Thor Norgaard, a Deaf man in rural Appalachia. That the Lord saw her along the winding journey and that Aven now carries Thor’s child are blessings beyond measure. Yet while Thor holds her heart, it is his younger brother and rival who haunts her memories. Haakon—whose selfish choices shattered her trust in him.

Having fled the Norgaard orchard after trying to take Aven as his own, Haakon sails on the North Atlantic ice trade, where his soul is plagued with regrets that distance cannot heal. Not even the beautiful Norwegian woman he’s pursued can ease the torment. When the winds bear him home after four years away, Haakon finds the family on the brink of tragedy. A decades-old feud with the neighboring farm has wrenched them into the fiercest confrontation on Blackbird Mountain since the Civil War. Haakon’s cunning and strength hold the power to seal many fates, including Thor’s—which is already imperiled due to a grave illness brought to him at the first prick of warfare.

Now Haakon faces the hardest choice of his life. One that shapes a battlefield where pride must be broken enough to be restored, and where a prodigal son may finally know the healing peace of surrender and the boundless gift of forgiveness. And when it comes to the woman he left behind in Norway, he just might discover that while his heart belongs to a daughter of the north, she’s been awaiting him on shores more distant than the land he’s fighting for.

And now, my review:

This book picks up close to where book one, Sons of Blackbird Mountain, left off. I recommend you read book one first, though there is a lot of recap. (This slowed the plot of book two down. That’s a tough balance, and it’s difficult to know if readers will be confused or bored.) We get to catch up with Thor and his brothers. Once again, the author does a great job of bringing us into a Deaf (her capitalization preference) person’s world. I really enjoy reading about this element in a main character’s life. It’s rare in CBA fiction.

I like Joanne’s writing voice. Her historicals are rich with research and strong prose. She’s a wordsmith. One element I noticed this time that I didn’t in book one is the POV is distant. With all that lovely prose, I didn’t feel the characters’ emotions, most of the time. Their emotions are described, but not presented in a way that helps readers feel. I also found redundancies and stalled ruminations that didn’t advance the plot. 

This story is Aven’s, definitely, but it’s also Haaken’s. We follow this youngest brother throughout the book. He’s a wounded soul and therefore we’re engaged in his story, but at the same time there were believability issues. Without a redemption moment near the beginning of the story, we see him changing. The arc wasn’t believable without that element, and I always felt like something was missing for his characterization. Without a God-encounter near the story’s opening, it’s hard to believe he can be a deeply changed man—from lustful to redeemed and made new, walking in ongoing repentance (i.e. not returning to lust) though he’s back in his target’s life.

I was a little lost at times when characters made plans without letting the reader in on them. Without deep POV, we had the disadvantage of distance. Keeping some secrets is fine. That may keep us reading. But leaving us in the dark for whole chapters can be frustrating.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, which kept me returning to read more. Once finished, I missed the setting and the characters. At the end of the story, the author sets up book three. I can’t wait!

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A Search for Refuge by Kristi Ann Hunter

FREE NOVELLA: A Search for Refuge

I enjoy Kristi’s books. Click over to Amazon and pick up this e-novella for free!

Let’s begin with the summary:

Margaretta Fortescue desperately needs to disappear from London society, and her only hope is to follow the rumors of another young woman who recently made a life for herself away from the glare of society. Her search leads her to the market town of Marlborough where, in spite of her efforts to avoid attention, she can't seem to elude local solicitor Nash Banfield.

All Nash wants is a quiet, sedate life--no risks or surprises. When Margaretta, clearly on the run and unwilling to answer questions, interrupts his solitude, his curiosity and his principles won't let him leave this determined woman without assistance.

But will discovering the truth about Margaretta make him think twice about finally taking a risk on love?

A Search for Refuge is an e-only novella that gives an exciting introduction to Kristi Ann Hunter's new Regency historical romance series, Haven Manor! Includes an extended excerpt of the first full-length novel in the series, A Defense of Honor.

And now, my review:

I enjoy Kristi’s prose. She includes cheery humor, especially in the elderly woman character. That’s enjoyable.

The hero’s wound keeps him fearful, and in order to protect the woman he loves, he keeps his distance. I thought his reasoning was interesting and fitting. Even today, there are no guarantees. (I'll leave it to you to read the book to discover what his hang-up is.)

The heroine has her secrets, but as the reader you may catch on right away. I sympathized with her and wanted things to work out.

This was a beautiful romance. And once again, as with previous Kristi Ann Hunter novels, I found myself highlighting beautiful phrases that could apply to me.

I’m off to read more books by this author.

Recommended!