Hedlund’s zippy latest in the Shanahan Match series (after Calling on the Matchmaker) finds 20-year-old Enya Shanahan in dire straits in 1840s St. Louis, Mo. Pregnant and abandoned by the ne’er-do-well who married her for her family’s money, she needs to find a new husband immediately to avoid scandal. Thankfully, matchmaker Bellamy McKenna has just the candidate: Sullivan O’Brien, whose father insists he settle down or risk being removed as captain of the Morning Star, a steamboat. The marriage of convenience gets off to a rocky start as Enya’s trust issues flare up. Still, she’s sure God has brought the two together for a reason, and as she slowly lets her guard down, Sullivan clues her into his secret operation ferrying people escaping slavery from New Orleans to the North. Enya’s eager to help, but must stay home as her due date draws nearer, while Sullivan embarks on a series of dangerous voyages. Will their romance have time to develop before trouble finds Sullivan? Anchored by a colorful cast of returning characters, the narrative finds its heart in Enya and Sullivan’s delicately drawn love story, and the winding path they take to happiness makes it all the more satisfying when they get there. This has more than enough to keep Hedlund’s fans invested in the series. (Aug.)

Reviewed on 05/17/2024 | Details & Permalink

New information about a long-ago disappearance shakes up a Texas town in Cabot’s textured latest Secrets of Sweetwater Crossing novel (after Against the Wind). In 1883, pianist Joanna Vaughn returns from a short-lived European tour only to discover that her sister Emily has converted their childhood home into a boardinghouse in the wake of their father’s suspicious death the year before. Joanna barely has time to process the news before Dr. Burke Finley and Della Stanley unearth more of the house’s murky history. Built more than 20 years earlier by Burke’s uncle Clive for his fiancée, Della, the Finley House was temporarily entrusted to Joanna’s father when Clive went off to fight in the Civil War, from which he never returned. Now, Della’s convinced that visiting the house will give her closure. But the exact opposite happens when Joanna sees the letter Della received from Joanna’s father about Clive’s death and realizes it isn’t his penmanship. Suspicious that Clive’s disappearance and her father’s death are somehow linked, Joanna teams up with Della and Burke to seek answers. As attraction brews between Joanna and Burke, a secret from her past emerges to complicate matters. Cabot gracefully blends suspense and romance as Joanna and Burke work to unravel the mystery before tragedy strikes again. Energetic and tightly plotted, this captivates. (July)

Reviewed on 05/17/2024 | Details & Permalink

Vetsch (The Gentleman Spy) kicks off her Of Cloaks and Daggers series with a propulsive Regency-era mystery featuring stolen treasure, royal secrets, and plenty of intrigue. Bertrand Thorndike is thrilled when his boss, the Duke of Haverly, taps him to investigate a cache of jewels stolen from the Prince Regent’s palace. He’s less enthused by the instruction to recruit Philippa Cashel, once the “most desired courtesan in London,” who now runs a school where she teaches former prostitutes life skills and helps them to find jobs. Though Bertie’s sure that Philippa’s too recognizable to be useful, he enlists her help questioning the prince’s scorned mistress. Philippa gets further enmeshed in the case when Nell and Lydia, former prostitutes she helped find jobs as maids at the prince’s residence, become prime suspects. As Bertie and Philippa work to hunt down the real thief, Philippa struggles to trust that God will let justice prevail. Vetsch expertly ratchets up the suspense and provides plenty of fodder for future entries. Readers will be on the edge of their seats from first page to last. (July)

Reviewed on 05/17/2024 | Details & Permalink

An unlikely pair finds love amid challenging circumstances in Irvin’s wrenching latest (after The Heart’s Bidding). Auctioneer Declan Miller has had a crush on Bethel King since the two were in high school together. While she’s charmed by his “sunny smile and sweet attitude,” 24-year-old Bethel has bigger things on her mind: her 13-year-old sister has recently begun to exhibit symptoms of muscular dystrophy, which also afflicts Bethel’s two younger brothers, whom she spends much of her time caring for. Eager to prove he’s matured since his class clown days, Declan makes an effort to keep Bethel’s brothers in good spirits, and she begins to see humor’s value “in the midst of trials.” Just when she’s started to change her mind about Declan, however, his own health takes a turn for the worse, threatening his livelihood, the pair’s chances at a future, and Bethel’s faith in a God who would permit such suffering. Irvin gracefully braids together themes of sorrow and faith with a sweet opposites-attract romance. Though the message that disabilities and illness are “Gott’s will” won’t resonate with all readers, this is sure to tug on the heartstrings. (July)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

Hauck (The Best Summer of Our Lives) centers this poignant second-chance romance on a 100-year-old skating rink in the quaint town of Sea Blue Beach, Fla. Over the decades, the Starlight has housed needy families during the Great Depression and hosted countless birthday parties and other events. When the mayor threatens to demolish the Starlight and build a shopping center in its place, the townspeople and the rink’s sprightly 87-year-old owner, Tuesday Knight, band together to save it. Leading the charge are Tuesday’s grandson, movie star Matt Knight, and—somewhat improbably—former supermodel Harlow Hayes, who fled to the Sea Beach house she’d owned with her billionaire ex after he dumped her. Sparks fly between Matt and Harlow, who once costarred in a romantic comedy, but as they battle the mayor and his cronies, issues arise—especially after Matt blabs a secret of Harlow’s during a talk show appearance—and they must repair their trust and put their faith in God to build a future for the Starlight and themselves. Interwoven with flashbacks to the 1930s, when Tuesday’s husband purchased the skating rink for her, Matt and Harlow’s slow-burning romance is brought to life through vivid prose and fine-grained characterization. This love story has charm and depth to spare. (July)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

Bestsellers Coble (Break of Day) and Acker (Guilty Blood) team up for a heart-pounding tale of stolen artifacts and murder. History professor Savannah Webster has struggled to pick up the pieces after her marriage fell apart in the wake of her toddler’s death three years ago. While researching the Willard Treasure, a collection of pre-Columbian artifacts housed in a museum at her Alabama university, Savannah discovers a stack of fake provenance letters and becomes suspicious that someone is trying to steal from the collection. She goes in search of answers from “slimy” university president Ellison Abernathy—only to stumble on his dead body in his office and become a prime suspect in his murder. When Savannah’s soon-to-be ex-husband Hez arrives for a new teaching job, she enlists his help tracking down the killer. Along the way, they draw on their faith to heal the emotional wounds from their daughter’s death and try to resist falling back in love before their divorce is finalized. The second-chance romance adds dimension to the well-plotted whodunit, which leaves more than a few secrets to be uncovered in the next installment. Readers will be on tenterhooks. (July)

Reviewed on 05/03/2024 | Details & Permalink

Four siblings dream of abandoning the Englisch world for a simpler way of life in this solid series opener from bestseller Gray (An Amish Cinderella). Beth, Jonny, Kelsey, and Martin Schrock, whose father left the Amish community in his early adulthood, are all in their 20s and disillusioned with their ho-hum jobs when they decide to seek fulfillment on their Amish grandparents’ farm. The elder Schrocks, who are skeptical about the sudden interest in their way of life, stipulate that the siblings live with them—two at a time—for a year before being baptized. Martin and Kelsey commit to the trial period but hardly have to time to acclimate to the daily chores and lack of technology before Martin’s interest in his grandparents’ pretty neighbor, Patti Coblentz, and Kelsey’s budding attraction to Preacher Richard throw a wrench in the works—since neither sibling can get married until they’re baptized. Are the Schrocks serious about their faith or simply in love with the idea of “living happily ever Amish”? Gray effectively sets the stage for the rest of the series, leaving just enough loose ends dangling to keep readers on tenterhooks for the next installment. This is sure to charm Gray’s fans and net her some new ones. (July)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

A marriage of convenience promises to develop into a true romance in Craft’s satisfying if somewhat heavy-handed latest Great Wagon Road novel (following Love’s Winding Road). In 1753, as tensions rise between French and British colonists in North America, budding artist Tessa Harris is traveling from Pennsylvania to South Carolina when an ambush by French outlaws leaves her father dead and the 19-year-old alone and vulnerable. Thankfully, handsome former British cavalry officer Stephen Griffith is also headed to South Carolina and agrees not only to accompany Tessa, but to marry her in order to protect her from scandal. Despite her misgivings about hitching her wagon to a stranger’s, Tessa is gradually drawn in by Stephen’s tenderness and bravery. There’s not much time for the heat to build, though, before the pair are taken hostage by the same men responsible for Tessa’s father’s death. Before they can start a new life together, Tessa and Stephen must first draw on their ingenuity and faith to escape their captors. Readers will forgive the stock characterizations—Tessa is a delicate heroine recovering from tragedy; Stephen is her stoic protector—as Craft deftly balances high-intensity action with moments of genuine heart. This is swoonworthy. (June)

Reviewed on 04/19/2024 | Details & Permalink

Connealy resumes her A Western Light series (after Chasing the Horizon) with the nerve-jangling story of a duo thrown together by chance in the Wild West. Kat Wadsworth and Sebastian Jones have spent all winter holed up in an iced-over Idaho canyon after a benevolent family saved them from desperate circumstances: Kat had escaped from an insane asylum she’d been forced into by an uncle who was after her inheritance, while inventor Sebastian was recovering from a gunshot wound sustained by an unknown attacker. Both are now eager to escape the cave and start new lives. After getting married as a ruse to travel together, they take a train to Cheyenne, Wyo., and buy a homestead. Hopes of a quiet life (and budding romance) are quickly dashed by brushes with danger, including an attempt on Kat’s life. Their efforts to discover the culprit (suspects include Kat’s greedy uncle and jealous inventors eager to steal Seb’s patents) bring them to Independence, Mo., where they attempt to use their wits and God’s guidance to extricate themselves from the mess. By turns tender and funny, the novel sees the slow burn of Kat and Seb’s romance woven seamlessly into a propulsive narrative filled with masked gunmen, greedy manipulators, and enough twists to keep Connealy’s fans on the edge of their seats. Readers will be captivated from first page to last. (June)

Reviewed on 04/12/2024 | Details & Permalink

A derringer-toting matchmaker gets embroiled in a love affair of her own in Turano’s spirited latest entry in the Matchmakers historical romance series (following To Spark a Match). After having her heart “shattered” by fortune hunter George Sherrington, Camilla Pierpont swore off romance forever and dedicated herself to orchestrating others’ relationships instead. Her relatively stable life in the Hudson River Valley is interrupted on a morning horseback ride when she and her assistant, Lottie, are pursued by a band of kidnappers. Thankfully, handsome businessman Owen Chesterfield swoops in to save the day, then enlists Camilla to transform his “ragamuffin” younger sister into a refined debutante. Eager to avoid the newly divorced George Sherrington’s return to town, Camilla accompanies Owen to his West Virginia home, where flirtatious banter and stolen glances spark an attraction. Just as Camilla starts to rethink her “spinsterhood,” however, the kidnappers—one of whom may be closer to home than she realizes—reappear, threatening to curb the budding romance before it can start. Buoyed by self-aware humor (when Camilla confesses her irritation with Owen to his grandmother, the latter suggests they “could very well be experiencing that enemies-to-something-delightful scenario that authors often write into their romance stories”), the propulsive narrative pulls off its twists and turns with aplomb, and the chemistry between the leads will keep readers invested to the last page. Turano fans old and new will be delighted. (July)

Reviewed on 04/05/2024 | Details & Permalink