Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Book Review of Now and Forever by Mary Connealy

Now & Forever is the second book in Mary Connealy's Wild at Heart series.  It brings Shannon Wilde and Matthew Tucker together when Shannon sees "Tucker" getting attacked by a grizzly bear and attempts to rescue him by throwing him and herself over a cliff into the Slaughter River.  This river is one that no one has ever made it out alive, but Shannon and Tucker do, which is the beginning of a new relationship between the two of them.  There are some strange things that start to happen on Shannon's homestead as they get to know each other, and Shannon is lucky to have Tucker by her side to get to find out who is behind those things and to protect her as well as her homestead.

I enjoyed the relationship between Shannon and Tucker.  They get married with not really knowing each other well, and as you get further into the book it is clear that they have truly fallen for each other.  I'm always leery when I choose to review a book that is the second in a series.  I found parts of this book to be confusing because I had not read the 1st book in this Wild at Heart series. With that said, I did enjoy this book.

*I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.*

Book Review of A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears


Here is a quick synopsis from the back cover of A Bride at Last by Melissa Jagears:

"Abandoned by his mail-order bride, Silas Jonesey has fought an uphill battle to recover from a pattern of poor choices. Now his prayers for reconciliation have finally come true and his estranged wife has contacted him with her whereabouts.

Kate Dawson was supposed to be a mail-order bride, but upon realizing she'd been deceived about her intended groom, she's now settled into life as a schoolteacher. When the mother of a student passes away, Kate assumes she'll take on care of nine-year-old Anthony--until two men suddenly show up in town, claiming to be the boy's father.

Silas can see Anthony loves Kate, so he enlists her help in reaching out to the boy and attempting to prove his paternity to the court. When a common interest in Anthony leads to an interest in each other and Silas and Kate begin to think they can overcome their rocky start, neither is prepared for the secrets and past hurts that have yet to come to light. Can Silas, Kate, and Anthony's wounded souls bind them together or will all that stands between them leave them lonely forever?"


I thought that the characters were well developed and enjoyed the interactions between Kate and Silas.  Both Kate and Silas have a past that haunts them as they try to form a new relationship because of their mutual love for Anthony.  I really loved how they help each other overcome that baggage to come to the end result.  The title of the book tells what the outcome will be, but you have to read the book to find out how Kate gets to that result.   I really enjoyed reading this book!

*I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review*