Christy and Todd: The Married Years trilogy by Robin Jones Gunn

Forever With You, Home of Our Hearts, and One More Wish by Robin Jones Gunn constitute a trilogy continuing the story of some of this prolific inspirational romance author's best-loved characters. Christy and Todd are a young married couple just out of college. Over the course of these three books, they face challenges with jobs, finances, and housing. They learn to communicate and compromise, and start planning for the future, including the possibility of children. They also reconnect with many old friends known to Gunn's readers from other connected stories.

I probably would not recommend these books as a starting point for readers unfamiliar with Gunn's works -- she uses this trilogy to tie up several loose ends and catch up with many old characters. Readers who have not already "met" Doug and Tracy, Katie and Eli, Sierra and Jordan, and the many others who appear in these pages would probably be a bit confused -- like going to a party where you don't know anyone, but everyone seems to know everyone else. On the other hand, readers who are familiar with Gunn's stories will enjoy catching up with everyone. Gunn's greatest strength as an author is her skill at creating memorable, relatable characters. I felt that the writing was rather weak compared to some of her earlier works (I always feel that the Glenbrooke series is her best). In this trilogy the authorial voice veered to the preachy side at times, which I've never noticed before in Gunn's writing. I also found myself occasionally rolling my eyes at the coy references to sex. I get the feeling that Gunn was taking special pains to keep the books squeaky clean for the youngest and most innocent of her readers, but it comes across a bit stilted. Of course, none of that kept me from burning through these books in a very short amount of time. I appreciate getting some closure for several long-running story lines, and I hope to see Gunn move on to focus on creating some new characters for her readers to enjoy. (When I saw the title of this series, I joked, "What next? Christy and Todd: The Parenting Years? Christy and Todd: Midlife Crisis? Christy and Todd: The Retirement Years? Christy and Todd: Til Death Do Us Part?" I think I may be kind of over Christy and Todd.)

(Reviewed from my personally purchased electronic copies.)

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson

The Healer's Apprentice by Melanie Dickerson is an inspirational fiction fairy tale retelling set in the middle ages.

Rose, a woodcutter's daughter, is fortunate enough to have been apprenticed to the town healer, meaning that she won't be forced to marry just to secure her station in life. When she catches the eye of the duke's sons, her life starts to get extremely complicated. Wilhelm, the older son, is betrothed to a woman he has never met, and has spent years hunting the sorcerer who threatens her safety -- but he can't deny his feelings for Rose. Rupert, the younger son, romances Rose with flowers and jewelry and sweet words, but his love for wealth means that he will need to either marry a rich woman, or take a lucrative position in the church. Will Rose find happiness with either of the two?

I picked this up because I read a favorable review of one of the author's other inspirational fairy tale retellings, and I decided to start with this one because it was the first. The story, very loosely based on Sleeping Beauty, is pleasant enough, and the author ably incorporates her research on life in the middle ages into the book. There are occasionally places where the characters do or say something that seems a bit modern for their time, but those instances are the exception rather than the rule. My main issue with the book was that I found the plot entirely predictable, and not in a good fairy-tale-retelling way. There's a twist at the end, and I saw it coming from a few chapters in. Even the characters saw it coming, but dismissed it for one reason or another. It seemed entirely too obvious, so I kept reading, thinking that perhaps the author would twist it a different way at the last moment and surprise me . . . but she didn't. Also, the main character has a dog named Wolfie, and for some inexplicable reason, that minor detail irked me all the way through. Wolfie. I just can't. (I do give the author credit for not hurting the dog, though -- I always read books where the main character has a close animal companion with a looming sense of dread!) All in all, I think this is the sort of book that I would have enjoyed as a teen, back when I was less picky and read a lot more inspirational fiction. As it was, I found it just okay, and wouldn't recommend it unless the mashup of inspirational fiction and fairy tale really, really appeals to you.

(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)

A Lady of High Regard by Tracie Peterson

For a change of pace during the 48-Hour Book Challenge, I read A Lady of High Regard, an inspirational romance by Tracie Peterson.

Mia Stanley, a young woman from one of Philadelphia's elite families, has had everything in life handed to her on a silver platter -- but that does not mean that she is not deeply concerned for the welfare of the poor in her city. Writing for Godey's Lady's Book has opened Mia's eyes to issues of social justice -- but when she uncovers corrupt dealings among landlords by the docks, she finds herself in danger. More than once, she is rescued by her handsome neighbor -- a man she's often tried to match up with one of her friends, as she feels he would make some woman an excellent husband. But Mia is not ready to settle down, herself -- or is she?

Fans of the historical inspirational romance genre will probably enjoy this book, but I don't see it reaching a wider audience. Mia definitely has her Too Stupid To Live moments, and I found her hard to like. The romance is obvious from the beginning, and suspense is built only by numerous interrupted conversations, where one or the other of the pair was on the verge of declaring themselves. I also thought some of the actions Mia took, as well as some of the advice she was given by other characters, was a little out of period for the 1860s, though not glaringly so. All in all, a fine fluff read for those who like this sort of thing, but not something I'd recommend more broadly.
(Reviewed from my personally purchased copy.)

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

I listened to the audiobook of Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin on a long car trip. In the past, I have very much enjoyed Austin's inspirational romances, and this one, set in Eastern Kentucky and featuring the packhorse librarians of the WPA era, had great promise. However, I found that a few glaring flaws made the story less than enjoyable for me.

The story is told from the point of view of Allie, a sheltered young woman who lives with her parents in the suburbs of Chicago. She loves books, and her job at the public library is a perfect fit . . . until the library's budget is cut due to the Great Depression, and Allie finds herself at loose ends. Prior to losing her job, Allie had been collecting books and magazines for libraries in Appalachia. When Allie's aunt and uncle announce that they are heading in that direction for a vacation, Allie rides along, planning to deliver the books to the library in Acorn, Kentucky, and to stay for a week or two and help catalog the books. When she arrives in the tiny backwoods town, she is shocked to learn that the librarian she has been corresponding with is a man, there is nowhere in Acorn for her to stay but at the library (which also happens to be the male librarian's home), and that living conditions in the little town do not include such amenities as electricity or indoor plumbing. Worse, the day after her arrival, the town's librarian is shot, and Allie finds herself caught in the middle of a web of deceit and intrigue.

My main problem with this book is that I did not find any of the main characters sympathetic or likable. Allie spends most of the story being Too Stupid To Live, complaining about her situation, being afraid of things, and reading solely as an escape. She grows incrementally stronger over the course of the book, but it was not enough to redeem her in my eyes. I also had some big problems with the plot, and the way other characters trapped and manipulated Allie into staying in Acorn against her will. It made it hard for me to like those characters, or to root for the success of the book's romantic subplot. The dialogue felt stiff and contrived in spots, too. To top it off, the plot meandered along at a leisurely pace, leaving me plenty of time to stew over my dislike of the characters. (In all fairness, this might have been because I was listening, rather than reading -- that can distort my perception of a book's pacing.)

I wish I could recommend this book -- I thought the premise was fascinating, and I am usually a fan of this author. Maybe next time I read one of her books, it will be a more enjoyable experience all around.

(Reviewed from an electronic audiobook borrowed through my library system.)

Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson

I received Full Disclosure by Dee Henderson from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program. I've read all of Henderson's other works, so I am basically right in the center of the target audience for this book.

Paul Falcon is a high-ranking FBI investigator. When small-town cop Ann Silver stops by his office and drops a hot lead on his desk, related to a cold case he's been trying to solve for years, Falcon finds himself interested in more than just the evidence envelope she hands over. Ann is an enigma to Falcon -- one he'd like to try and solve. Will Ann let herself get close to him, or will the secrets in her past keep them always at arm's length?

One of the most interesting things that Henderson did in this book was to make Ann the fictional author of all of Henderson's earlier works -- and to make those works based on Ann's friends' lives. On one hand, this is a clever device to allow characters from the O'Malley series and Henderson's other books to crop up as characters in this book, despite the fact that Ann was not a character in the earlier books. On the other hand, it does make Ann a bit of a Mary Sue. While she's not a perfect character (more on that later), she does have mad skillz as both a writer and a homicide investigator, as well as an intimate relationship with God and a talent for forming and maintaining close friendships. She comes across as a bit of a Superwoman.

Unlike Henderson's earlier books, the suspense element was dialed down several notches in Full Disclosure. I kept waiting for that edge-of-your-seat moment when the hired killer is holding a gun against one of the characters' heads . . . it never came. There's plenty of intrigue and several shocking revelations, but they're all in the past, not part of the main action of the story.

On a personal note, I also thought that the romance lacked heat. Ann is intensely private and afraid of commitment, and most of the story is told from Falcon's perspective. While he was fully involved in trying to make a romance happen, I found Ann's hesitant and standoffish attitude extremely off-putting. Other readers may not have this reaction, however.

So, the amount of criticism I'm leveling may make it seem like I didn't enjoy this book. On the contrary, it held my attention nicely. While I might have liked to see a little more romance and a little more suspense, I did enjoy the way characters from previous novels were woven into the story, and I liked the way the two major cases that Falcon was working intersected. I would recommend this to Henderson's hardcore fans -- but for those who like inspirational fiction and romantic suspense, I would recommend giving The Negotiator a try and working your way up to this book.

(Reviewed from an advance copy courtesy of the publisher, via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)

Finally and Forever by Robin Jones Gunn

Finally and Forever by Robin Jones Gunn is the conclusion of the Katie Weldon series. More than that, this book wraps up loose ends from over twenty years of writing by Robin Jones Gunn. Katie was a secondary character in Gunn's Christy Miller series, Sierra Jensen series, and Christy and Todd: The College Years trilogy. Christy's story was wrapped up in that trilogy (though she makes occasional appearances in other books), Sierra's story concluded with Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii (one of my reads from January of this year), and now Katie's story concludes with this book.

Katie, in her usual spunky and impulsive style, has followed her boyfriend Eli to Africa, where his parents work with a mission organization. Now that Katie and Eli have finished college, they both hope to find a way to be useful in Kenya. Will Katie be able to adjust to life in Africa? Will she and Eli find purpose for their lives -- and will those purposes be compatible, or will the two of them end up going their separate ways?

I have a sentimental connection to Gunn's writing, since I counted her among my favorite authors when I was a teen. Her squeaky-clean inspirational romances are better written than most of that genre, and she does a good job of creating interesting characters and developing relationships between them. Her teen and young adult novels feel realistic -- they're a good depiction of the conservative Evangelical Christian culture I grew up in. As such, they may not be of interest to those unfamiliar with or disinterested in that culture. For their target audience, however, they are a pleasant diversion.

I often don't mention book covers, but I do want to add that this one is particularly heinous. The first three books in this series have covers that are actually expressive of Katie's personality and of the tone of the story -- but with this book, the publishers threw all of that out of the window and decided to go for a soft-focus picture of a dreamy-eyed girl who looks like Africa would chew her up and spit her out. I'm really unimpressed. It looks like they just gave up and slapped any old stock photo on this cover.

(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)

i heart bloomberg by Melody Carson

I picked up i heart bloomberg by Melody Carlson because it was a Kindle freebie. When I finished my previous read on my Kindle, I just clicked over to the next thing that sounded interesting. The two books are nearly as different as night and day, but sometimes that's a good thing.

In i heart bloomberg, three twenty-something women are looking for better living arrangements. They each respond to an intriguing ad: rooms for rent in a luxurious upscale home located in an ideal location. After agreeing to sign the lease, however, they discover that the ad may not have been entirely truthful -- sure, the location is great, but the house is run down. Moreover, landlady Kendall is a complete basket case: a narcissistic shopaholic with a drinking problem, huge credit card debts, and an equally huge sense of entitlement. The four women have their ups and downs as they adjust to their new situation.

This was a quick and fluffy read -- enjoyable, but without much substance. The writing was okay, but not great. All in all, I don't regret reading it, but I probably won't seek out the rest of the series.

(Reviewed from a free electronic copy.)

Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn

Reading Love Finds You in Sunset Beach, Hawaii by Robin Jones Gunn was like catching up with a friend from high school. Though at first it appears to be just another entry in one of those massive multi-author inspirational romance series (you know, the ones that are generally so uneven in quality and so tenuously connected that they don't really go together at all), it's actually the continuation of one of Gunn's earlier story lines. As a teen, I devoured Gunn's Sierra Jensen series -- twelve short books about the ups and downs in the life of a Christian teen in Portland. Unlike Christy Miller, the star of Gunn's other teen series, Sierra's didn't end with promises of romance for the main character, and though Gunn provided glimpses of Sierra's college days in books about other characters, not until now has grown-up Sierra had a book of her own.

Sierra has been working for a missionary organization in Brazil. When she gets word that the funding has been cut for her current position, she is faced with uncertainties. The organization has another position available, but it's not one that appeals to Sierra. When a friend offers her a chance to get away, Sierra accepts. She travels to Sunset Beach, Hawaii, thinking that an island vacation should be the perfect time for a little soul searching. During her vacation, as she travels to a friend's wedding, a series of coincidences throws her in the path of Jordan, a professional photographer. First at the wedding, and then in Sunset Beach, their paths keep crossing. Sierra and Jordan find themselves both drawn to one another and compatible in their beliefs and personalities, but is this the right season in either of their lives for romance? Jordan is considering taking up a corporate sponsorship to photograph surfing competitions, a job that would mean constant travel, while Sierra's job offer in Brazil would mean isolation in a small village. Can their budding relationship endure those kinds of stresses -- and are they even willing to test it?

This is a gentle romance -- there's very little kissing, very little fighting, very little suspense . . . the tension is all internal to the characters as they decide whether to pursue a relationship. So, for those who like fiery heroines and love/hate relationships, this is not the book for you. However, I would recommend this, first of all to fans of the Sierra Jensen series, and also to people who like an uncomplicated, romantic story. Gunn's writing, at the word-and-sentence level, is not always flawless (though better by far than the common run of inspirational romances), but she has a gift for creating relatable characters, putting them in interesting situations, and describing the setting in a way that always makes me want to go for a visit!

(Reviewed from my personally purchased copy.)