Monday, May 25, 2020

Susan Payne Returns With . . .

An intrepid heroine and a mysterious man come together and make magic in There's Always Hope.

Hope St. Michaels travels to Sweetwater Kansas to assume the role of school marm to the area's children. Disfigured by port wine birthmark, she faces bias and bigotry and feat. Enter the one-named anti-hero named Wilder who battles his own set of biases due to his Native American heritage, as well as his stubborn, close-mouthed attitude. Together these two are magic.

Again, Susan Payne teaches another valuable lesson: do not judge a book by its cover. Hope is intrepid and brave and devoted to educating children. Her disfigurement, not of her own making of course, makes the ill will and maltreatment by some of the Sweetwater residents all the more wrenching.
Now, Wilder, the one named anti-hero, is another story. Too handsome for his own good—again not of his own making—but there you go—and part Native American, he does not seek out friends nor does he wish to influence people. He simply doesn't care what others think of him, and that of itself is a breath of fresh air. Wilder's softer side emerges—often against his own will—when it comes to the new school marm whom he is sworn to protect.
And it is a wonder. to read.

On a scale of 1—5, There's Always Hope deserves a 5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews



Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Tomorrow's Wish for Love

Tomorrow's Wish For Love
a contemporary romance by Diana Stout

     School teacher Marion Winter retreats to the small town in Georgia where she was raised to rest and regroup after a recent double-edged trauma. She is determined to rebuild her shattered life, make a success of her new house cleaning service, Maid Marion, and care for her widowed, ailing father. There must be a reason to go on—if only she can find it.
     Enter John Dalton, political cartoonist and baseball coach, a man with a heart who is looking to help the children of the community grow and succeed by renovating a vacant field—right next door to her dad's home—turning it into a place where kids can go to play and learn, families can come together, the community can thrive.
.    Marion is organized, quietly determined, and intensely reserved. John is out going, caring, and devoted to helping young people become the best they can be. For the first time in months she has something to fight for: mounting a campaign to prevent the havoc a sports field will wreak on the older, established neighborhood where she was raised. Spotlights after dark? Loud speakers? Litter? Noise? No no no.
     With determination and patience, John and his “kids” turn things around. Almost overnight a new sense of life infuses the air. A former blighted, weed choked eye sore is now green and lush and attractive. Families pull together to support the children in a new sense of community. Everyone is happy, thriving, excited.
     Everyone except Marion who is now faced with a choice of staying in place or making changes by confronting past traumas. John is there, at her side, showing her there are alternatives to every problem and often those alternatives can be better than the original.

     This sweet romance shows us how pre-conceived ideas and failure to communicate due to fear and shame can be the ruin of something momentous before it has a chance to bloom and grow.

On a scale of 1—5, Tomorrow's Wish For Love deserves a 4.5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews



Monday, May 11, 2020

Jeremy's Home by Susan Payne

Come home to find love, faith, and trust.

Jeremy's Home, Book 3, the Sweetwater Series, Susan Payne, a historical romance, out of the Wild Rose Press.

      Jeremy Macgregor returns home to Sweetwater, potential fiancee in hand, with the idea of settling back into the family he adores. Said fiancee, however, has other ideas and after one long look at the town and Macgregor clan, high-tails it back to civilization. Not to be deterred, Jeremy stays on and creates a new life and career in the town he loves.

     Having read Payne's other novels in the Sweetwater series, we know she does her research, then twines it into the plot line. In past books we were treated to luscious cuisine, women's fashions of the day, birthing babies and with Jeremy's Home: architectural design and what in the 20th century is known as Rape Trauma Syndrome. Again, Ms. Payne did her homework and it shows.

On a scale of 1—5, Jeremy's Home deserves a 4.5

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews



Monday, May 4, 2020

Lord of Druemarwin

In a world of lies and betrayal, can they come to trust each other?

Lord of Druemarwin, a fantasy romance by Helen C. Johannes, a 2019 release out of the Wild Rose Press


Near the end of this fascinating and intriguing novel of betrayal, endless machinations, and ultimate cruelty, the hero, Lord Naed says, “...my beloved is a warrior, a woman most passionate, and ally most fierce. I can ask for no better as a wife...”

And that sums it all up. Johannes has a talent for creating, then putting to paper, a host of multi-layered characters, a wondrous setting, then topping all with fast-paced action. 

Lord of Druemarwin is a gift for lovers of fantasy romance—and romance in general.
  
On a scale of 1—5, Lord of Druemarwin deserves a 5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews