An Unexpected Wife by Susan Payne

 Gone. It was all gone. The reason she sold half her wardrobe to buy a ticket all the way to Nebraska. The reason she turned down marriage to the twice-widowed butcher back in Cincinnati, Ohio. The reason she was on the ten-thirty Union Pacific to Whitewater Rapids. Now there was no reason to be there.

Wallowing in self-pity, for the first time in her life, she felt adrift without a home, a family, or anyone to care. She always had someone to take care of and be part of before. Now that her father had passed, and his professor’s wages with him, Lorelei needed to find a new life for herself. This position as town librarian was to be it. Now it, too, was gone.

Our Review:  Having read and reviewed a number of Ms. Payne’s works, An Unexpected Wife is her best effort to date. On reading the above passage, we were drawn in immediately by the fear and sadness, the need to simply give in to fate and give up entirely. Who/What/Why we asked—and kept turning the pages to learn more about Lorelei and Luke Foster, the man who “rescues” her and is in turn rescued. This is a wonder of a story.

 On a scale of 1-5, An Unexpected Wife deserves a 6.

      Kat Henry Doran, Two Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Genuine Fake by Susan Vaughan

         When sparks between them ignite to flames, the danger escalates—to their lives and their hearts.

      Devlin Security operative Boyd Kirby guards only art and artifacts. Memories of leading his Army Ranger team into a deathtrap haunt him, so he swears never to protect people. But when the woman who once stole his heart asks for help, he can’t refuse. The search for Gemma Bellini’s missing friend leads to a complex case of art forgery and murder attempts on her life. Sweating bullets, Boyd vows not to be distracted by her warmth and his desire. He damn well will protect her… with his life.

 Our Review:  It’s always a treat to read a novel filled with a serious relationship between two intelligent, well-written characters who possess realistic goals, motivation, and conflict. Then when it’s spiced with danger and suspense—also realistic and carefully drawn, it’s advances up the rung on the fantastic read meter. Susan  Vaughan continues to keep us entertained with her novels of non-stop action and suspense. She doesn’t stop there because her characters are people you’d be pleased to welcome into your home and get to know better. Thank you for a terrific read.

 On a scale of 1-5, Genuine Fake deserves a 6.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow

 There’s nothing like a few lies, a group of foreign spies and a conspiracy to protect sexual predators

 Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow, published by Hachette Book Group.

 Sexual assault is not new—it’s existed since biblical days. As then, it remains very well hidden from view by its victims who, for untold numbers of reasons, feel what happened to them was their fault.

Because that’s what society has told them.

Because that’s what the perpetrator—and those in power who aided and abetted the rapists/abusers in their “careers”—have reminded these victim-survivors again and again in an effort to keep silent.

No more.

 As Farrow and his gutsy, tireless team undertook to seek out, then interview of women assaulted and abused by Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein, he exposed a decades-long cover up by friends and associates. Most actively helped Weinstein continue his abusive behaviors by not taking a stand and say “Enough!”. Others abetted by their silence or looking the other way, thus excusing rape, sodomy, coercion, libel, slander:

Why? Because he could. Because others helped him.

Along the way of Farrow’s exhaustive investigation, the names of other prominent men came to light. Again behaviors were excused, denied, ignored and by the use of something called an NDA—non-disclosure agreement—one more way to keep a woman in her place, and silent. Somehow we’ll never view NBC in quite the same way again. Shame on you Noah Oppenheimer, Andy Lack, Steve Burke and Matt Lauer.

 God bless Ronan Farrow and the women who came forward to speak the unspeakable. Catch and Kill is their story, the anthem of the #MeToo movement.

 On a scale of 1-5, Catch and Kill deserves a 10.

 Kat Henry Doran, Two Wild Women Reviews

 

 

 

 

Dance to a Wylder Beat by Marilyn Barr

            Nartan Sagebrush's name may mean "to dance" in Arapaho, but he dances in secret. Forced to abandon his Shamanic apprenticeship, he is overwhelmed with homesteader life, and even his spirit guides are at their wit's end. Nartan takes fate into his own hands. Instead of divine intervention, a wife will help with his responsibilities and in assimilating into the Wylder community. 

Olive Muegge answers Nartan's "wife wanted" advertisement.  Wildly independent she has secretly dreamed of a family to call her own. The secret she carries inside makes her an outcast and her wild ways don't fit the quiet wife Nartan thinks he desires.

        Despite their differences, they are drawn to each other but a mistake may drive them apart.  Will Nartan embrace his Shamanic past to save them both or will he choose to rid himself of Olive forever?

 Our Review: For those readers who thrive on fiction centered in the old west—and those who lean toward the paranormal—Dance to a Wylder Beat, the latest in the Wylder West series for the Wild Rose Press—is an experience. Author Marilyn Barr has gone above and beyond in her research, not only for the customs and beliefs of the Arapaho nation, techniques once used to prepare animal hides for tanning, popular recipes of the time frame, and an all around lexicon of everyday life in the old West. This is a unique love story between two deserving, multi-layered characters.   

 On a scale of 1-5, Dance to a Wylder Beat deserves a 3.5

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews 

 

 

 

 

Body Conscious by Ana Diamond

 Move over Stephanie Plum. . .  

        As a mortician, Lily Reynolds is used to seeing dead bodies in her family-owned business—just not the murdered type. As hunky yet squeamish detective James Rivers zeroes in on her as the number one suspect, she rises above accusations and rumors to solve the case herself all the while keeping her attraction to the troubled detective at bay.

          James has a past. The last time he let someone into his life, she wound up dead. Vowing never to let that happen again, he has sworn off dating for good—until he meets Lily—and gets a load of what she does for a living. In his gut, he knows she’s not the murderer but pressure to solve the case puts him on the wrong trail while he comes to grips with her job and struggles to keep her off the case.

 Our Review:  While Manorview, a small town along the Hudson River, is no “Burg”, it holds its own when it comes to characters, bumbling and otherwise, kooks, tweakers and bad boys. Humor abounds as Lily and her quirky siblings work hard to keep the family business alive and thriving as a tribute to their murdered parents. And like all small towns, Manorview’s hotline for gossip, inuendo and allegations runs at warp speed. For zany, comedic action, Body Conscious is the story for that reader who appreciates unique and different settings and off the wall humor. We expect great things from debut author Ana Diamond. This is the first of many. Nicely done.

On a scale of 1-5, Body Conscious deserves a 4.5.

She Wakes the Night by Darcy Carson

            Trell Langois escapes a thousand-year-old curse. Being trapped as a tree wasn’t on her bucket list, but now she can continue as a healer. Traveling with her dragon, Torkel, she seeks out new cures to help others and meets Gren, an unfortunate soul who suffers from a dreadful disease.

          Gren Oyg Har is a prince on a mission. In order to rule his father’s kingdom, he must first find a healer. Not just any healer, mind you, but one with a dragon. Yet, it is Trell who finds and recues Gren, but wants nothing to do with him. If not for Torkel, she would leave him behind.

          Separate goals soon become entangled, and both Trell and Gren are on their way to falling in love until secrets better kept hidden become known—and threaten to destroy all they hold dear.

 Our Review: Rarely have we found a novel filled with such lyrical descriptions of every aspect of a story:  the setting, the characters, the emotions. Author Carson has a real talent, not only for her imagination, but also for her clear in-depth research into exotic diseases and ethnic groups. Her ability in putting that information into a cohesive, coherent story is exceptional.

 On a scale of 1-5, She Wakes the Night deserves a 6.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews    

Backup Offer by Liz Crowe

 Backup Offer, Book 9 in the Stewart Realty series, written by Liz Crowe, a July 2021 release by Buoni Amici Press, LLC’

      After Blair Freitag ended things with Brandis Gordon, she was determined to get away--and stay away from him for good. She put family, friends, and the life she knew in Michigan in her rearview mirror and started over. As owner and head chef of her own place in Louisville, Kentucky, she stays busy, turning “Blair’s Kitchen” into the darling of the local restaurant scene. She’s managed to avoid Michigan for almost a decade, but when her best friend needs her help, she drops everything and heads home.

Brandis Gordon has spent the last ten years coming to terms with addiction, personal tragedy, and the loss of the woman he loved. He’s now the third generation to run his family’s construction business, and he’s managed to reconstruct tattered relationships with his family and friends. He’s got everything he needs—except a for one thing.

When the contractor Blair paid to build an expansion on her restaurant takes off, not before making sure her place is trashed to Hell and back. She only hesitates a moment before calling Brandis for help. After he rushes to her side to evaluate the crisis, it doesn’t take long for the temptation of close proximity to give way—with serious consequences.

 Our Review:  It isn’t often that we find an author who portrays addiction and its long-term effects both for the user and those in his/her immediate circle in a clear, coherent manner. Liz Crowe has done an excellent job of showing how events which are in the distant past continue to effect people well into their adult lives. Brandis Gordon has made a truly remarkable recovery in all aspects of his life—and  works the steps each day in many ways. Blair Freitag? Not so much. Yes, she’s worked hard to create a strong professional presence but her personal life remains in tatters still after ten long years. Friends and family urge her to get over herself, but for someone who knows the other side of addiction and the damage it wreaked, it’s not that easy. Recovery and repair must be shown on a daily, continuous basis—and Liz Crowe has done a masterful job with two wounded people coming to grips with the past while forging a future.  

 On a scale of 1—5, Backup Offer deserves a 4.

 Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews