Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer

I discovered Witemeyer a year or so ago when I stumbled across her book, Tailor-Made Bride on sale at a local store. The cover and write up grabbed my attention and so I snatched it up.  Loved reading it and reviewed it here: http://bookaholicconfessions.blogspot.com/2011/08/tailor-made-bride-by-karen-witemeyer.html

I have sense read To Win Heart by Witemeyer ( http://bookaholicconfessions.blogspot.com/2012/08/to-win-her-heart-by-karen-witemeyer.html  )  and was thrilled when this book came up as a bargain on Amazon.  I was, once again, wrapped up in a sassy fun tail with lively characters.  There was nothing I did not like about this book!

Meridith Hayes has dreamed of the same man since she was 10 years old, so when she overhears a plot to cause harm to the Archer ranch she determines to alert Travis Archer and save him from trouble.  Along the way she gets hurt and ends up causing more trouble than she ever expected.. a shot-gun wedding with her as the bride and, after pulling the short-straw in a contest with his brothers, Travis the groom.  

How did a good deed turn into such a mess?  Can Meridith win Travis' heart and teach him to open up to the world outside his ranch?  Or will she find herself trapped in a loveless marriage and on his ranch? 

Goodness Gracious Green by Julie Christie

Book 2 in the Green series. I love this series! Again, never heard of these until I saw them offered for free on Amazon and I love them!

Lois is starting her 2nd year in Green, LA with a new lease on life and a shift in her plans. Her paper is now not just hers, but the rest of the staff has been giving a piece of the pie through profit sharing.  Lois has inherited a house.. has the beginnings of a new relationship.. and is being targeted by an arson setting fire to her life. And then the former owners of the paper show up and announce they want the paper back... they have a big fat check and if Lois refuses to take it, they will sue.  

Did she make the right decision to stay in Green? Should she take the money and run? Only the Good Lord knows and Lois hasn't been talking with Him much lately.

Past Suspicion by Therese Heckenkamp

I can honestly say I doubt I would have picked this book up much less bought it had I seen it in a bookstore. The cover is not appealing to me and the back of the book summary did not grab me. So how did I end up with it? It was a freebie offered by Amazon for Kindle. I discover so many great books and new authors this way!   And this was a good book! Definitely a case of not judging a book by its cover.

Robin Finley is just shy of 18 when her mother dies leaving her a legacy of secrets and fear.  Robin is uprooted from her California home and sent to live with an uncle she never new she had in a small town she never knew existed. While there, Robin discovers her mother was much different in her growing up years than as an adult.. carefree, adventurous, full of life.  That is until the accident.

Robin finds herself drawn into her mother's past and the mystery that surrounds the events that forever changed her life. And in searching out answers, Robin finds danger in a place she never suspected.

Reads a great deal like a Victoria Holt or Phyllis Whitney mystery.

Happily Ever After (Deep Haven #1) by Susan May Warren

Life is coming together, finally, for Mona Reynolds. She has the property she wants.. a business partner.. some finances.. and books on order!  Her dream of a bookstore in an old Victorian House on the shore of Lake Superior in Deep Haven is within her grasp. But there is so much work too do.. More than Mona and Liza can handle, so when drifter Joe Michaels shows up looking for work and a place to live they snatch him up without much of a thought to who he is and why he is there.

It quickly becomes apparent that Joe knows what he is doing, but equally apparent is the fact he has secrets.  Mona cannot help but wonder what they are .. who he is.. why he is here.  When things start to go wrong, it looks like Joe is trying to sabotage Mona's dream. But why? Mona struggles with the desire to trust versus how things look. Can she learn to lift her eyes off the seemingly obvious and onto the One in charge?

Great book... looking forward to diving into the rest of this series.

Gone to Green by Judy Christie

I had never heard of this series or author until this book popped up on Amazon as a freebie for Kindle. Once again, I love freebies.. not just for the obvious financial reasons, but because I find myself snatching up books I might not even consider otherwise... and with Kindle freebies, I often find books I have never seen sitting on the shelf of a bookstore.  I have discovered new series and new authors along the way, many that are on my to-read list for other books they have written or will write. Christie is one such author. I have since loaded the entire Green series on my Kindle and look forward to reading it in the days ahead.

Lois is on the fast track to becoming Managing Editor of a mid-size corporate owned newspaper when life throws her the curve ball of all curve balls... The Green News-Item... a small town weekly newspaper in the not-so-metropolitan town of Green, LA.  There is a stipulation that Lois keep the paper a year and then, at that time, she can continue on or sell. So off to Green she goes.

Green is far from the quaint little charming town full of warm friendly folks Lois expects. Instead she find unemployment and poverty, a downtown essentially deserted, big opinions, good ole boys, strict expectations and a overall wariness about strangers.. especially those who are not Southern.

Over time, Lois finds a friend or two...  a wayward teen,  an up and coming reporter and a lady preacher to name a few. As she gets to know Green and its inhabitants, Lois sees the possibilities here.  Greed and Politics are ruling Green and it is time for a change. Lois sets out to present not only the standard warm-heart small town news folks look forward to reading (who is marrying who etc) but also some hard hitting looks at the truth to stir civic pride and effect change in Green.

A year passes quicker than expected.  It is obvious that Lois has been accepted by the citizens of Green, who praise her to the spark she has lit.  How will she ever be able to sell The News-Item and leave these people? But she has to, right? There is a job waiting for her at a larger paper... time to get back on track with her dream.. or maybe it is time to create a new one.

Murder Takes the Cake by Gayle Trent

Yodel Watson was the town gossip... was because she is now dead.. found by Daphne Martin as she delivered yet another cake to Yodel. Daphne was trying desperately to get her custom cake business up and running and she knew Yodel's endorsement would go a long way. After all, Yodel talked to (and about) everyone!  But Yodel is picky and always found fault with the cakes Daphne brought to her. Not this time... this cake was perfect.. but then Yodel was dead, so what did it matter.

When it is discovered that she was poisoned, the town immediately looks to Daphne.. even though Yodel never saw the cake much less ate it!  Daphne has to shift the suspicion off herself and onto the real killer.. and quickly or her business will fail!

Very cute, fun read... another cozy mystery... looking forward to reading more in this series.

Tidewater Inn by Colleen Coble (A Hope Beach Novel)

A friend loaned me this book... so glad she did!  I had never heard of this new series (Rosemary Cottage is coming Summer 2013).

As I have stated here before I love a Cozy Mystery.. I also love Christian Fiction.. this is both AND there is historic architecture involved which makes it even better!  I grew up in a town that thrived on its past and fell in love with old homes and the history and legends that go along with them.

Libby love old buildings and her passion is helping their owners restore and develop them back into the grandeur of their past life. An unexpected inheritance makes her the owner of a grand old hotel in need of her touch, but how can she afford to renovate it much less keep it up afterwards? There is an interested buyer offering her more money that she can fathom.. enough to take her business to a new level and afford her the ability to find more properties and develop them.

She has also inherited a family she never knew she had, but are they open to accepting her? Especially now that her business partner is missing and she is the main suspect.  Libby sets out to find her friend and prove her innocence with the help of a handsome Coast Guard Lieutenant. But it soon becomes apparent to her that even he suspects her of a crime.  As long as she is suspect, no one is searching for the real kidnappers or for Nicole... and time is running short for her and for Libby.