Paint the Sky by Kim Turner

 The promise of love is where two hearts collide...

 About the Book: Pardoned for crimes he never committed, Leaning Bear has grown weary of the injustices thrust upon himself and his people. On encountering the new teacher for the reservation, he quickly discovers she is ill-equipped to survive in the West. But when he happens upon her painting at a nearby stream, he realizes there is more to her than he first thought. It doesn't take long before he recognizes she is his heart song—though loving a white woman comes with great risk to them both.

          Alli Crockett arrives in the small town of Lame Dear to teach the children of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. There, she finds things harder than she imagined: a home that is little more than a ramshackle cabin inhabited by wildlife, a tribal Chief who isn't happy with her, and the locals who harass everyone in town have taken notice. While she expected difficulties, she never imagined falling for the quiet medicine man.

          But when she becomes the brunt of local gossip, there is only one choice to make...the one that will break her heart.

 Our Review: Of the many positive things that can be said about this Western historical romance, the author’s descriptions of setting—be it the small rural town to the primal forests to the Cheyenne lodgings—put the reader right there in the middle of it all. The characters, from the two compelling leads to the snarly town bullies are layered with their past experiences and overall goals. Less is best is a wise rule for all writers to follow; author Turner has mastered that rule beautifully. Leaning Bear is a true hero for any generation; Allison is brave, intrepid and inventive. The bullies are particularly hair raising. Well done!

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Paint the Sky merits a 6.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

Silent Creek by Jean M. Grant

 When life takes your identity, you make a new one.

About the Book: Walking off the grid in search of safety from the ex who stole her life, Josie Sawyer is dumped into the deep end. Her late uncle’s mountain homestead comes with responsibility for his elderly friend, and Josie’s finances are quickly strained by a medical emergency and the aging property’s mounting repairs.

She needs help—and money—fast.

Determined to put his criminal past behind him, Everett O’Reagan has vowed to build a better life for himself and his daughter. So, he jumps at the chance to work for Josie as the homestead’s live-in handyman. But between trying to dodge the nosy local sheriff and appease a hard nose caseworker, his new reputation is on shaky ground.

A cautious bond forms between Josie and her new tenants, and the friendship leaves her hoping she might repair her sense of human connection. But when suspicious activity on her property points to a dangerous trespasser, a dark discovery shatters Josie’s blooming trust. Maybe a secure life with a new family was just a fool’s hope in Silent Creek…

 Our Review: Much can—and should be—said about this mystery suspense offering from author Jean Grant. The first is each page, every paragraph is a jewel in itself. This is not a novel where pages can be glossed over and still get the drift of the story. Clues and hints to who is causing such angst are right there for devotees of this genre.

          The second is each character, from the crusty Boomers who still have a lot of life left, to the angelic, energetic and inventive five-year old who will steal readers’ hearts. If action packed suspense, multi-layered characters, and a how-to on living off the grid are your cup of tea, Jean Grant and Silent Creek is the book for you.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Silent Creek merits a 7.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Origins Progeny

 To heal the future, one must confront the past:

After an estranged explorer returns home to help her ailing mother, she’s confronted by powerful forces who demand a high personal cost for any hope of a cure.

About the Book: Alina DeHerte thought she had escaped Alpheios, the genetically engineered city on planet Eamine. After rescuing her son from its corrupt rulers, she built a fresh life with a new fiancé in a remote sanctuary. But when word of her mother’s grave illness reaches her, Alina's fragile peace shatters.

Returning to Alpheios means she must navigate rising threats in an unpredictable city. In pursuit of dominance, the city’s power brokers are jeopardizing their citizens’ lives. Alina must ally with a man she has long avoided—a Guardian officer who fathered her son. Both have a shared stake in the city’s uncertain future.

If Alina wants her mother to survive, she must unravel the city’s secrets and grapple with her conflicted past. Deep winter is upon them, and Alpheios is on the brink of explosive change.

Our Review: Fans of sci-fi adventures with a bit of the dystopian thrown in for flavor, will glom onto book 2 in the Children of Alpheios series. Multi-layered characters are not what they first appear and show their underlying motives as the story progresses—keeping the pages turning. Issues familiar to past as well as current generations are the same in author Fedorak’s future world: complicated family relationships, inbred loyalties—healthy or not—political ambitions and rivalries, greed and ego systems are all there. At times heart wrenching, always complicated, this is one compelling read.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Origins Progeny merits a 6.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Runaway Love Story by Sadira Stone

 Wrong time, wrong place, perfect guy.

 About the Book: A heartbreaking distress cry interrupts Laurel Jepsen’s search for a new art gallery job, leaving her stuck in Eugene, Oregon to rescue the great aunt who in the past, rescued Laurel too many times to count.

Running into adorable Coach Dalton ignites a sweet flirtation that quickly turns spicy. He’s wise, funny, and is going through the same heartbreak: losing a loved one to dementia. But he wants lasting love, and Laurel is only passing through. No matter how much she craves him, she can’t let him derail her dreams. 

Our Review: Revised from an earlier previous release, with new chapters added and enhanced, this spicy, funny and heart-wrenching story of true love and second chances showcases the author’s talent at creating real, honest characters with real, honest flaws as well as strengths. Long-standing family dramas abound, but through love they are at last—if not solved are brought out into the open and confronted. This is a fun, exciting series and very well done.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Runaway Love Story merits a solid 7.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Stone of Doubt by Margaret Izard

 Don’t ever doubt yourselves or waste of second of your life. It’s too short and you’re too special…

 About the Book: Newly graduated from the Edinburgh College of Performing Arts, Evie MacDougall has one goal: to capture a ghost on film. And maybe for learn what happened to Aodhan, the Fae Boy she once loved. He left her at a difficult time; the door feels left ajar. If only once could she see him again. . . to know why he never came back to her.

          On her journey Evie encounters many people, places and things to help her not waste a second of her life. She learns she is too special.

 Our Review: Long time fans of the Stones of Iona series will easily fall into the pace and story line of this series, rediscovering much loved characters and brought up to date for what’s “going on” with members of the clan MacDougall. New-comers will not be lost on the history of the Stones as author Margaret Izard cleverly slips in clues along the way to let them know they are not lost between the realms of Fae and humans. Another winner!

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Stone of Doubt merits a 5.

   Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Chosen, by Toni V. Sweeney

Lifelong enemies vie for the love of a woman who is the key to unlocking the door to the Dark World. . .

About the Book: In the waters off the coast of Georgia, a sleeping behemoth is chained to the ocean floor. On Land’s End Island, off that same coast, a true believer struggles to open the doorway, bringing unknown gods back to this dimension. When a motor vehicle accident kills Robin Chambers, bringing his widow, Lisa, under the care of Dr. Daniel Walker, the stage is set.

          Lifelong enemies, the physician and the master of Land’s End Island, become rivals for Lisa Chambers’ body as well as her love—for she and her unborn child are the key to opening the door to the Dark World.

Our Review: The reader is immediately drawn into this fast-paced paranormal thriller. As Lisa struggles to recover not only from her multiple injuries but her memory of events surrounding the accident that caused her husband’s death, something else, something vivid and evil lurks in the background. Discovering the who—but more important the why keeps the pages turning.

Based on a scale of 1-5, Chosen merits a 5.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

  

Scandalous in Huntington Beach by Melody DeBlois

              Sparks fly when a feminist and a politician inherit a rundown B&B . . . and a baby.

About the Book:  California senate hopeful Bennett Browning knows nothing about babies. When his former girlfriend dies and leaves him with the daughter he knew nothing about, he’s left scrambling until he meets Emma Kuan, his daughter’s aunt, who volunteers to be the baby’s nanny.

Emma is used to keeping secrets. She and her sister always hid their tragic past, but she’s stunned to learn her sister hid the baby even from her. After meeting the infant who steals her heart, she’ll do anything to be with her, even living with a stranger.

Worried about a potential scandal, Bennett and Emma juggle jobs and living arrangements with parenting. Then a doctor delivers bad news about the baby—forcing them to make drastic changes in their priorities.

Our Review: The author paints a complex, vivid picture of two people from diverse backgrounds who come together in order to save an orphaned infant from the foster care system. Over the course of raising that child, a new relationship is born. Just as it begins to thrive, the ultimate blow hits—forcing them to reexamine the direction of their lives. On the surface, this is a heart breaker. Underneath it all is the long-lasting effects of abuse, neglect, substance abuse and mental illness on those who survived—and those who did not.

On a scale of 1-5, Scandalous in Huntington Beach merits a 4.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews