Magnolia Market by Judy Christie

Avery Broussard is ready to sign on the dotted line for the boutique she has been working at.  She has saved it from financial ruin and has been promised she could buy it from her deceased husbands mother.  It is the first anniversary of her husband’s death and she is ready to sign on the dotted line.  In comes her mother-in-law with the new owners of the boutique.  Not only is the boutique sold out from under her, she is evicted from the house owned by her in-laws, and her bank account emptied.  During a snow storm and due to her agitated condition she runs into the store front of Magnolia Market.  Avery starts working in the Magnolia Market cleaning up the mess she made.  The owner’s wife suffers a stroke which makes Avery feel even guiltier.  So Avery along with Kathleen, the lady who she also ran into, start working in the market to keep it open while the owners are at the hospital.

Unbeknownst to Avery, T. J. Aillet hears everything Mrs. Broussard says to her in the boutique.  He is a carpenter who has been hired to do some repairs at the boutique.  T. J. is not a stranger to the Samford society.  In fact, his mother and Mrs. Broussard are best friends.  Mrs. Aillet is having a fit that T. J. is working as a lowly carpenter.  T. J. is also working at Magnolia Market repairing the damage done by Avery’s car.  As you can guess, T. J. is the love interest in the story.

This is a cute read. It is a clean Christian novel. It will make you happy.  But then make you mad at the way Avery is treated by her ex in-laws.  Avery and T. J. have to work through their feelings for each other as Avery didn’t have a good marriage and T. J. led a rebellious life before returning to Samford.  This is the second novel in the Trumpet and Vine series and the first novel I have read by this author.  I have already got the first book “Sweet Olive” and plan to read it soon.  It is not necessary to read the first book though. 

I was given this book by the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in anyway

Nowhwere to Turn by Lynetter Eason

Danielle Harding has decided she has had enough of her abusive husband.  She decides to take her 11 year old son, Simon, and run for it when Kurt is out of town.  She plots and plans.  Last time she tried to leave Kurt caught her and threatened to kill Simon if she tried it again.  She finally has a chance to leave.  She is on her way out of the house when Stuart, Kurt’s brother, shows up.  She makes a run for it only to have Stuart try to follow.  Having nowhere to turn, she turns to Adam Buchanan of Operation Refuge.  In the mean time Kurt is killed and she is left a widow.  Unfortunately it seems her troubles are just starting with Kurt’s death.  Now someone is trying to kill her.  Adam and his team keep moving her to safe houses only to be found every time. 

Stuart is obsessed with Dani and won’t leave her alone.  But it doesn’t appear that he is the one trying to kill her.  They can’t go to the police because Stuart is an FBI agent and so was Kurt.  They don’t know who they can trust. 

This book has many twists and turns.  When I thought I had it all figured out I was thrown for a curve and had to rethink my conclusions.  Even when I thought the book was winding down to the end and everything was solved I was thrown another curve.    I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good mystery.  I love all of Lynette Eason books and this one did not disappoint me. 

I was given this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any way. 

Tried & True by Mary Commealy

Kylie Wilde is the youngest sister of the Wilde family.  She has had it with dressing as a boy, wearing britches, short hair, and posing as a man.  She has started wearing dresses and has let her hair grow.   It is a risk as she and her sisters, also posing as men, are homesteading using their exemption they earned for serving in the Civil War as men.  The problem with that is that women were not allowed to serve in the Civil War.  So if they were found out they would lose their exemption.  Kylie plans on working only as long as she has to on her homestead to have ownership.  Then she plans to sell the property and return to the luxuries of life back East.

Aaron Masterson is the local land agent.  He is fascinated with Kylie from the moment he rescues her from her roof while she was trying to nail a wood shingle on during a rain storm.  Now that he knows she isn’t a man he can’t in good conscious allow the Civil War exemption to stand.  Kylie is furious that she will have to work additional time before heading back East.  Not only does she have to work her homestead longer, someone is trying to force her off her homestead. Aaron wonders if he will have any luck convincing her to marry him to protect her.  His future plans include settling further into the frontier and he knows that Kylie wants to go back East.

Mary Connealy has done it again.  This is a great light hearted read with some mystery and romance combined.  I would highly recommend this book to all ages.  I am anxious for Shannon’s story in the next book in the series.

I was given this book by the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any way.