Garden of the Midnights by Hannah Linder

Garden of the Midnights
by Hannah Linder

ISBN-13: 9781636094380
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Barbour Publishing
Released: October 1, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
The accidents are not a matter of chance. They are deliberate. As English gentleman William Kensley becomes aware of the danger at Rosenleigh, he pleads for truth from the only man he can trust—until that man is murdered.

As the secrets unfold into scandal, William’s world is tipped into destitution—leaving him penniless and alone. His only comfort is in the constant love of Isabella Gresham, but even that has been threatened. When a hidden foe arises from their acquaintances and imperils Isabella’s life, William's determined to rescue her. But even if he saves Isabella from her captors, will he still have to forsake her heart?


My Review:
Garden of the Midnights is a romance set in 1809 in England. This story started out a little weird because we know William and Isabella are the romantic couple, but William believed Isabella to be his half-sister. Happily, they're not, but that's what ended up pulling them apart. Initially, they grew close spending time together and getting to know each other while thinking of each other as siblings. Isabella felt challenged to be a better person by William's words and actions toward others. Isabella's father wanted her to marry a wealthy, respectable young man that she didn't like. William and Isabella's love burned so strong that they couldn't be happy without the other. It got a bit melodramatic by the end.

The story was enjoyable, but some details just didn't make sense to me. Like a fortune in money seems to just disappear. William's aunt was blackmailing Isabella's father for 5,000 pounds a year, which is a huge amount (about £516,697 or US$651,136 today). Isabella's father didn't seem even remotely inconvenienced by losing this amount and had 2,000 pounds in bank notes kept at the house yet he acted like Isabella had no dowry or expectation of money and would depend solely on her future husband. William's aunt didn't live like she had a lot of money beyond her modest estate. The robbers, who took off with rich people's jewelry and money, lived in abject poverty. Money just seemed to show up or disappear on the author's whim.

Through difficult circumstances, William learned to take a poor widow woman's advice to forgive even deep wrongs rather than turn silent and bitter. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this unrealistic but enjoyable historical romance.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Christmas Forevermore by Sarah M. Eden, Sally Britton, Ashtyn Newbold, Karen Thornell

Christmas Forevermore
by Sarah M. Eden, Sally Britton, Ashtyn Newbold, Karen Thornell

ISBN-13: 9781524424459
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Released: Oct. 3, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Holiday novellas from four of your favorite historical romance authors. From meddling matchmakers to fortuitous fiascos, the holidays have never been more magical!

“A Family Christmas” by Sally Britton: After years abroad, Cyril Grant worries about relating to his highborn relatives at the family’s holiday celebration. But an unexpected connection with a member of the household staff opens his heart―in more ways than one.

“Christmas Forevermore” by Sarah M. Eden: In this reimagining of the beloved Charles Dickens tale A Christmas Carol, spinster Minna Schofield is inadvertently ensnared by a local matchmaker whose meddling launches Minna on a journey of self-reflection that could lead her to unexpected love.

“Christmas at Cranfield” by Ashtyn Newbold: Though childhood friends Hannah and Samuel secretly adore one another, fate conspires to keep them apart. But after years of shared holidays and missed opportunities, this Christmas brings the hope that their stars will align.

“A Thrill of Hope” by Karen Thornell: After a devastating loss, Christmas holds little appeal for Isabel Reid. But when a snowstorm traps her in the company of a surprising traveling companion, the perpetual winter of Isabel’s heart may just begin to thaw.


My Review:
Christmas Forevermore is a collection of 4 romance novellas set in England during the Regency period. The main characters were all likable, and most grew and healed through the events in the story. I liked three of the novellas a lot as the romantic pairs helped to bring out the best in the other, all while participating in Christmas festivities.

In “Christmas at Cranfield,” they knew they loved each other during that first Christmas, but the hero had already agreed to marry a woman he didn't love. The moment he was free, he didn't do anything to see if his true love was still free. So she encouraged an acceptable, nice suitor only to discover during the second Christmas that the hero hadn't married. She strongly hinted that she wanted him to propose, but he's terrified that his best friend (her brother) will turn down his offer because he has no title. He never had the guts to ask, which really disappointed me, though they obviously got a happy ending anyway.

There was no sex or bad language. Overall, it's a charming holiday romance collection that I'd recommend to fans of Regency romances.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Against the Wind by Amanda Cabot

Against the Wind
by Amanda Cabot

ISBN-13: 9780800740658
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: October 1, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Doctor-in-training Louisa Vaughn has no intention of remaining in Sweetwater Crossing. She's just there for a few days to help a friend. But she can't abandon the injured man she finds at the side of the road. Until his broken leg heals, she'll serve as the town's doctor and midwife. She may not be fully qualified yet, but surely she's better than nothing.

Josh Porter's plans to win his grandfather's challenge and fulfill his father's final wish to gain full control of the family business hit a roadblock when he breaks his leg. But his enforced stay in Sweetwater Crossing gives him new ideas about the expansion of the company into new territory--ideas Louisa could help turn into reality.

If only the town were more accepting of Louisa's talents! Someone is determined to convince her to abandon her dream of healing others. Can Josh help her uncover the person behind the threats? And is there any future for them together?


My Review:
Against the Wind is a Christian romance set in 1882 in Texas. It's the 2nd novel in a series but can work as a standalone. Louisa feels that God has given her the desire and ability to heal and so is determined to be both a midwife and a doctor. She doesn't let other's opinions that women shouldn't be doctors stop her, but it becomes quite the struggle to convince her hometown to accept her skills even though there's no other doctor. In fact, someone's trying to scare her into giving up both professions.

Josh respected her medical skill and consulted her knowledge of the town to help create a tea room that would appeal to them. He's driven by a promise to his father to try to win leadership of his family's business, and the success of the tea room could prove his worth. Both Josh and Louisa built each other up and showed how they valued the other through their actions. They became close friends as they spent time together. Josh had to reconsider if his priorities really would bring him happiness.

The Christian element was mostly how Louisa treated other people as valuable even when they didn't treat her kindly. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable romance.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews

Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow!
by Donna Andrews

ISBN-13: 9781250893963
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Released: October 10, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Meg Langslow has been roped into participating in a weaponsmithing competition, a Forged in Fire wannabe organized by a blacksmith friend. Meg originally turned down an invitation to participate, but the night before the filming starts, someone attacks Faulk, her blacksmithing mentor, breaking his arm and eliminating him from the contest before it begins. Meg agrees to step in as his replacement to keep the project from failing. She's not thrilled that the filming will take place during December – Christmas is already a crazy time for her. Since the competition is taking place on Ragnarshjem, the picturesque estate that her friend Ragnar, the retired heavy metal drummer, is turning into a Goth castle, Meg won’t have to spend Christmas alone and gets to bring Michael and her twin sons with her.

So Meg joins the cast, to the dismay of several old-school blacksmiths who think women have no place in the profession anyway. And if the show's producers were hoping for drama, they're in luck. The blacksmithing world is a small one, and some of the contestants arrived already laden with grudges and feuds. What could possibly go wrong?


My Review:
Let It Crow! is a cozy mystery. It's a part of a series but can be read as a standalone. Meg, her husband, and kids were engaging and acted realistically. As a female who has taken a traditional blacksmithing class, I was interested in that aspect of the story and enjoyed it.

Meg passed on clues that she discovered to the detective, mostly things she came upon, observed, or happened to overhear. Since we knew that the murder was done with a hammer stolen from the competition tent and Meg had hidden cameras installed at each station, I kept wondering why they didn't check the footage to see if it showed the thief. They never did. While I strongly suspected whodunit and how, Meg didn't figure out whodunit. The killer assumed she'd figured it out and attacked her. When told she didn't guess, instead of confessing to a lesser crime, the killer confessed every detail of how and why.

There was no sex. There was some bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

A Cold Highland Wind by Tasha Alexander

A Cold Highland Wind
by Tasha Alexander

ISBN-13: 9781250872333
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Released: October 3, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Lady Emily, husband Colin Hargreaves, and their three sons eagerly embark on a family vacation at Cairnfarn Castle, the Scottish estate of their dear friend Jeremy, Duke of Bainbridge. But a high-spirited celebration at the beginning of their stay comes to a grisly end when the duke’s gamekeeper is found murdered on the banks of the loch. Handsome Angus Sinclair had a host of enemies: the fiancée he abandoned in Edinburgh, the young woman who had fallen hopelessly in love with him, and the rough farmer who saw him as a rival for her affections. But what is meaning of the curious runic stone left on Sinclair’s forehead?

Scotland, 1676. Lady MacAllister, wife of the Laird of Cairnfarn Castle, suddenly finds herself widowed and thrown out of her home. Her sole companion is a freed Moorish slave girl who helps her secretly spirit out her most prized possessions from the castle. A bitter ex-servant manipulates people into suspecting and then accusing Lady MacAllister of witchcraft, a crime punishable by death.


My Review:
A Cold Highland Wind is a mystery set in 1905 in Scotland. There's also a secondary story going on in 1676 that tells details of a past event referred to in the main story. This book is the 17th in a series. You can understand this book without reading the previous ones, and this story didn't spoil the mysteries or major events of the previous books.

Historical and setting details were woven into the story without slowing the pacing. The main characters were engaging and reacted realistically to events. Emily and Colin had to identify the victim, which wasn't as easy as it initially seemed. Emily asked good questions, followed up on clues, and considered possible scenarios until she figured out what was going on. I started suspecting whodunit only a little bit before Emily did, so whodunit was guessable from the clues.

There were no sex scenes, though married sex was implied. There were only a few uses of bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Into the Fire by Irene Hannon

Into the Fire
by Irene Hannon

ISBN-13: 9780800741884
Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: October 1, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description from Goodreads:
As a former smokejumper, arson investigator Bri Tucker knows her way around fires. But after a mysterious blaze takes the life of a former colleague, Bri inherits a curious puzzle from him that raises questions about several fiery deaths. Someone, however, doesn't want her picking up where he left off in search of answers.

When she teams up with ATF Special Agent Marc Davis to solve the puzzle, the danger escalates. But will they manage to track down the person behind the mysterious deaths before their budding romance--and maybe even their lives--go up in flames?


My Review:
Into the Fire is a Christian romantic suspense novel. The characters were likable and reacted realistically to events. Suspense was created by two people secretly harassing Bri and escalating the level of danger as she got closer to solving the serial arson/murder cases.

Bri had a bad relationship back when she was a smokejumper, so she's wary of a new romance. Marc recognized this but was intrigued by her and so kept finding ways to spend time with her. They became friends as they worked together, and Marc was happy to show up to help her in an emergency. They had a romantic 'spark' but both wanted something more that would last. Marc and Bri both had a traumatic childhood, and both struggled to forgive the person who wronged them.

Bri and Marc acted like Christian forgiveness originated in them feeling a certain way rather than as a choice. They couldn't forgive how that person wronged them and changed their lives, like doing so would mean they were okay with what happened. At the end, both suddenly decided to 'give it to God.' Since their inability to forgive was mentioned several times, I felt like there should have been a little more explanation about how they resolved this struggle. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting arson novel.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni

On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni

ISBN-13: 9780800744977
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Revell
Released: September 26, 2023

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Cora Matthews has long wondered why her mother stopped taking her to visit her grandparents' lodge in the small Northwoods Minnesota town of Moonberry Lake. Now, after burying her mother and breaking off her engagement just two weeks before her wedding, Cora has a chance to find out. Once there, she is stunned to learn that the old lodge is her inheritance--with a surprising condition attached. Maybe some time to regroup on the shores of a beautiful lake is just what Cora needs to figure out what's next for her.

But Cora's days on the lake are anything but relaxing. The only thing that's a bigger mess than her own life is the dilapidated building she's living in. Add a cantankerous handywoman, an angry neighbor, and an elderly woman who spends all her time talking to the "residents" in the cemetery and Cora's not sure she can stick it out. But if she can, she may find a love she never expected--from the most unexpected people imaginable.


My Review:
On Moonberry Lake is a Christian romance. Cora's father and father's family were never mentioned. I kept expecting her to discover that the fallout between her mother and her parents was about Cora's father, but it's not. I was disappointed that Cora's mother completely cut off communication with her parents and refused to forgive them over the actual reason as the main offense wasn't even against her.

Cora's good at one thing: running away from uncomfortable situations. She even left her winter coat behind in frigid weather because she felt embarrassed. She was left her grandparent's lodge in an effort to get her to stick out hard situations and learn to deal with them. She must stay at the lodge for one year, and the building needed a lot of hard work to fix all of the problems. As Cora made friends with the quirky neighbors, she found the family she's been longing for and learned to accept and even love people who initially made her uncomfortable.

The characters were entertaining and engaging. Ben, the very normal love interest, was supportive, kind, and patient. The neighbor who's a pastor is the only character that was obviously Christian, and some of her friends probably weren't. (The artist kept referring to the universe directing things.) Cora's not a Christian, yet at the end she connected with God and felt enveloped in His care despite the hard things happening to her and her friends. There was no sex or bad language. Overall, I'd recommend this novel to those who enjoy quirky characters.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.