All Summer Long by Meldoy Carlson

Back of the Book

Tia D'Amico is thrilled to move to San Francisco to help her aunt transform an old luxury yacht into an upscale floating restaurant. What's not to love? Sunset dinner cruises, posh wedding receptions--the possibilities are endless and far more appetizing than staying in a monotonous job in her Podunk hometown. Besides, some of her best memories are tied to San Francisco--especially the memory of Leo Parker, her crush from a long-ago sailing camp.

When Leo Parker himself turns out to be the yacht's captain, Tia is floating on air. But will it all come crashing down around her when she discovers his heart belongs to someone else?

Get ready for a romantic summer in San Francisco, where the future glistens brighter than the Bay at sunset.

My thoughts

All Summer Long is the perfect summer read.  It has a smooth and delightful plot with a few ups and downs, but no outrageous tension to interrupt the sweet romance building between Tia and Leo.  Tia is an easily relatable character with a kind personality, she struggled to keep the peace between the people around her.  Leo is comfortable in his own skin, but seems almost oblivious to the drama going on around him.  This is the second book in the Follow Your Heart series but if you don't have time to read the first book you can still enjoy this novel and won't miss a beat.

  I was given this book free from Revell publishing for my honest review.

Traces of Guilt By Dee Henderson

Back of the book

Evie Blackwell loves her life as an Illinois State Police detective . . . mostly. She's very skilled at investigations and has steadily moved up through the ranks. She would like to find Mr. Right, but she has a hard time imagining how marriage could work, considering the demands of her job. 

Gabriel Thane is a lifetime resident of Carin County and now its sheriff, a job he loves. Gabe is committed to upholding the law and cares deeply for the residents he's sworn to protect. He too would like to find a lifetime companion, a marriage like his parents have.

When Evie arrives in Carin, Illinois, it's to help launch a new task force dedicated to reexamining unsolved crimes across the state. Spearheading this trial run, Evie will work with the sheriff's department on a couple of its most troubling missing-persons cases. As she reexamines old evidence to pull out a few tenuous new leads, she unearths a surprising connection . . . possibly to a third cold case. Evie's determined to solve the cases before she leaves Carin County, and Sheriff Thane, along with his family, will be key to those answers.

My Thoughts

I have been a Dee Henderson fan for a long time, the O'Malley series is at the top of my list of well written, entertaining series.  Yet  Henderson's last few novels have not had that same effect on me, they just seem out of reach from reality.  Traces of Guilt is an odd blend of the two styles of writing.  Ann Falcon from the novel Full Disclosure comes and goes throughout the book bringing her unique drama and personality into the story.  However, right in the middle of the book the old Dee Henderson (O'Malley) style comes back and I was thrilled, even though it didn't last long.  That being said, the characters were well written, each scene developed to a tee, and the plot made me stick around even during parts I didn't like.  

Traces of Guilt was full of twists in the characters lives, that will keep you guessing what is coming next.  If you are a fan of the last few Henderson novels you won't find a thing wrong with this book, but if you are a die hard O'Malley fan, as I am, this book is a page turner with glimpses of what you know and love.

I was given this book free from Bethany House Publishing for my honest review.

Silence In The Dark By: Patricia Bradley

Back of the Book

Two years ago, Bailey Adams broke off her engagement to Danny Maxwell and fled Logan Point for the mission field in Chihuahua, Mexico. Now she's about to return home to the States, but there's just one problem. After Bailey meets with the uncle of one of the mission children in the city, she barely escapes a sudden danger. Now she's on the run--she just doesn't know from whom. To make matters worse, people who help her along the way find themselves in danger too--including Danny. Who is after her? Will they ever let up? And in the midst of the chaos, can Bailey keep herself from falling in love with her rescuer all over again?

With lean, fast-paced prose that keeps readers turning the pages, Patricia Bradley pens a superb story of suspense and second chances.

My Thoughts

Once again Patricia Bradley has written a novel that, when reading, you think you have it all figured out, but in the end you learn you never had a clue.

Silence in the Dark has all of the tension, twist, and turns I have come to expect from the Logan Point series but with enough new characters and locations involved I almost forgot what series I was reading.  Danny is a great solid character that takes command of situations and just says it how it is.  Bailey seems so lost, and while I know that is how the author wanted her to be, it kinda turned me off to her character.  While only one or two characters from past Logan Point novels made appearances in the book, many new characters helped make this story come to life.

I was given this book free from Revell Publishing for my honest review.