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Dawn of Alaska Series
Book 1: Written on the Mist
Jonas Redding is a former US Marshal who now goes by Jonas Darrow to protect the last of his family, his sister, from the same tragedy his mother and fiancée had suffered. He was heading to Alaska, far away from what happened in Texas. Only distance and time didn’t stop the nightmares from following him. And leaving the lawman behind didn’t work out so well either.
Evelina Amos and her seven siblings were left a shipbuilding business and a string of trading posts in Alaska after their father had died. While their oldest brother, Alexie, had been out on his ship, the three girls and youngest brother moved to Juneau. Evelina’s twin sister, Kate, was a doctor and wanted more patients. Evelina was teaching the young natives to read and write in English—much more than they could do in Sitka.
I loved the storyline and the characters. I always enjoy books with several POVs, more than the hero and heroine. I’m looking forward to more in this series. I like how the author takes a character from the previous series and moves them into the new series, as she did with Jonas.
Book 2: Whispers on the Tide
Sasha Amos, captain of the Aurora, has a particular
passenger coming on board. He’s been contacting DC for years to do something
about the illegal poaching of seals. Dr. Torres will do a study and take it to
some interested senators, and hopefully, something will be done about it. What
he didn’t expect were the other three passengers.
Maggie McDougal has to find her brother, Tavish. He’s been
working on the Aurora and should be arriving soon. Only, he wasn’t on the ship.
Thankfully, the captain will bring her to meet Tavish for free. She has her two
younger siblings to think about as well. Their uncle will take over her late
father’s shipyard if they don’t find Tavish. And the only home the three of
them ever knew.
As always, the author pulled me into the story with the
beautiful surroundings and intriguing characters. It was hard to read about how
many seals were killed illegally, but it’s always interesting to learn the
facts she adds to her books.
Book 3: Above All Dreams
Dr. Kate Amos is an unusual person. She’s not warm and fuzzy like her twin sister. She’s more serious and wants to be the healer she felt called to be. Easier said than done when you’re a woman in the late 1800s. When Dr. Nathan Reid ended up being her patient with a concussion, she assumed he was another scientist who came to Alaska to explore something. Not that man who would possibly steal her dream from her.
Dr. Nathaniel “Nathan” Reid was intrigued by the woman helping people who had just had a wagon accident. He was told there was one doctor in Juneau, Alaska. There was another one. One much more capable than the drunken man carrying a medical bag. She was amazing. Everything she did to help those people…and then himself was precisely what he’d do.
After everything Kate had endured, she couldn’t accept that Nathan honestly thought highly of her. She had to learn to accept that God loved her and made her just who she was.
Another exciting story in Alaska. Greedy villains who only care about making more money. Nature that was beautiful at times and dangerous at others. Characters that I fell in love with, and I can’t wait for the rest of their stories.
Book 4: Echoes of Twilight
Mikhail Amos was one of the best men to lead a group in the wilds of Alaska. He had been exploring the area for a long time and was familiar with it. He also knew the tribes and their languages. When a group of scientists goes missing, he’s called in to find them. Being in the mountains during wintertime is dangerous, so he prays they are discovered quickly.
Since her mother passed away, Bryony Wetherby has been exploring with her father for fourteen years. She enjoys the work but has often been told that she can’t be a scientist because she is a woman. It would be an embarrassment to her father. He wanted her to be married to a man who would help him secure funding every summer. Until she met Mikhail, she never thought she could be more.
Thanks to delays and secrets within this group, winter has hit hard, and getting out of the mountains and back to Sitka is quite an adventure. Meanwhile, back at Sitka, Mikhail’s brothers have to deal with problems of their own from the Caldwells. A family with money who think they can do whatever they want.
I love Naomi’s books, and every series is so exciting. I like how she incorporates actual events from that era alongside the fiction.
Book 5: Against the Rain
Yuri Amos is the family charmer. Always happy and jovial. Always plenty of females plying for his attention. He enjoys making others smile. He’d like to help Rosalind smile more, too, but that’s unlikely, since her dad and uncle have been trying to destroy them for the past four years.
Rosalind Caldwell is a beautiful bird kept in a guilded cage with secrets she can’t tell. What may look like a life where she has it all…is false. Unlike the Amoses, where love abounds among the eight siblings, she has to avoid any confrontation with her father. His fists fly fast and hard if she takes one wrong step. Things have gotten worse, and she needs to get out of Sitka, Alaska. Not until she finalizes a few things, though.
I love every story Naomi Rawlings has written. Whether in Northern Michigan, Texas, or now in Alaska. They can be heart-wrenching at times, but thankfully, there is always a happy ending.
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Texas Promise Series
Book 1: Tomorrow's First Light (Sam and Ellie)
Sam Owens was an orphan and always dreamed of his own ranch and a family. His dream was finally coming true. He had a ranch. A small herd of cattle. A nice house. And he'd soon have a wife. Somehow his dream wasn't as he thought. Someone trying to take his land. And his new wife had more of her siblings with her than he'd expected. With no money coming in...his instant family was a bit overwhelming.
Ellie Spritzer had been writing to Sam for a year. She was moving from Eagle Harbor, Michigan to Twin Rivers, Texas. She'd have someone who cared for her and start a new life. Instead, her ma died and she had no choice but to keep her siblings with her as no other family members were willing to take them in. Real life was quite a bit different than writing letters.
This is a new series that starts with five friends who make a pact that they'll either get married before thirty...or after. A silly pre-teen blood oath. The secondary characters are wonderful, as well as the children. And of a couple of real stinkers too. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to the next one.
Book 2: Tomorrow's Shining Dream
Sheriff Daniel Harding realized three years ago that his friend's little sister was now a beautiful young woman. But he held the secret of how he felt about her close to himself. After all, he's just a sheriff living with his parents and she was used to luxury. He could never give her what she was used to.
Charlotte Westin had made a terrible error in judgment. Falling for false praise by someone who was using her to steal her family's cattle. So when her father chooses the man she will marry...she agrees.
Five young men had made a pact many years ago. Three wanted to be married before they were thirty. Two thought maybe when they were older...if ever. Great storyline and characters. A series that stuck with me from book one and has me looking forward to the rest of them.
Book 3: Tomorrow's Constant Hope Book 3.5: Harrison's Resolve
Harrison Rutherford left town as soon as possible and went
to law school. Living the society life in Austin and staying clear of his
father and his ways at Fort Austin. This novella tells about Harrison’s earlier
life, where his father moved him from Larado to this desert land, and how he met
his four friends with whom he’s still close.
Looking forward to his story in book four of this
page-turning series.
Book 4: Tomorrow's Steadfast Prayer Harrison Rutherford had gotten away from Twin Falls to
become his own man…away from his father. As a lawyer, he was working his way
into society. When Harrison received a note that his father was ill, he knew
he’d have to return to Fort Ashton and take over…if his dad hadn’t recovered
yet. He hadn’t.
Alejandra Loyola was living a double life, and she hated
it. She was forced to work at Fort Ashton to spy on the owner and whatever else
her cousin Raul wanted from her. She would do almost anything until she got her
sister back. The problem was Harrison was a nice guy, unlike his father. And it
was getting harder to keep her secrets.
Love this series. Each story has been so entertaining and
enjoyable. Looking forward to Cain and Anna Mae’s story in the last book.
Book 5: Tomorrow's Lasting Joy
Cain Whitelaw has always been a loner. The son of a Texas Ranger that put his job first and a mother who turned to prostitution to support him. She had died loving Frank Whitelaw, even though he’d never married or loved her in return. Cain would never marry. He didn’t know how to be part of a family. He was, however, an excellent Ranger.
Knowing it was useless, Anna Mae Harding loved Cain most of her life. But, when she gets kidnapped and Cain rescues her, that love grows. Along with the rumors once he returns her to Twin Rivers. It’s time she marries a man who’ll be there for her, even if her heart protests.
This is the finale of this series. Every book has been a joy to read. Page-turning adventure and romance.
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Belanger Family Saga
Book 1: The Lady's Refuge
Michel Belanger had wanted to build furniture but was
refused jobs in Paris. After returning home to the farm, his father passed away
while plowing, and Michel feels guilty for ever leaving. Now he’s promised his
father to take care of the farm and his mother. While his brother, who does
love farming, is off in Paris.
Isabelle Cerise de La Rouchecauld has lost everyone she
loves in the Revolution. She has a promise to keep to her sister…she will make
it to England, where their aunt is. She’s so close before she’s attacked and
left for dead.
Michel struggles with helping an aristocrat. They’ve
treated the peasants poorly. But it seems that God has other plans in his life.
He has put Isabelle in his life for her to protect. I enjoyed this story, even
with some of the challenging issues the people went through, as this was an
actual event. The author does well in portraying the struggle of being forgiven
and forgiving.
Book 2: The Widow's Secret
Jean Paul Belanger has stayed in Abbeville and
taken over the farm while his brother, Michel, and his new wife have escaped to
England. Since then, his mother has passed away. He still mourns the death of
his wife and lives with the nightmares of what he had done in the name of
justice during the Reign of Terror.
Brigitte Dubois needs to move back to her
hometown by her mother and sister. She cannot let her evil father-in-law get
his claws into her children’s lives. Into his smuggling empire that her late
husband would’ve stepped into. He sends her on a mission with the promise of
her freedom…along with the freedom of her children.
Brigitte is sent to find out if Jean Paul is
the man who took Henri out of their home and murdered him. What she finds is a
kind man who helps the widows and injured in his town. I loved both this story
and the previous one.
Book 3: The Reluctant Enemy
Lord Gregory Halston is in enemy territory. He’s come to France
to retrieve his brother from prison. Unfortunately, things aren’t going quite
as planned. The man he hired as a guide disappeared, his brother is in bad
shape, the man he blames for all of this…is with them. They have a long way to
travel with a sick man and no guide.
Danielle Belanger and her younger brother, Serge, are returning
from Reims. She couldn’t find a husband in her hometown, so they spent a few months
at her aunt and uncle’s home. Unfortunately, no man was willing to take her as
she is. They’d rather have someone who can accomplish wifely duties rather than
throw knives and hunt…go figure.
As their paths cross, both Danielle and Gregory struggle.
Danielle hates the English for killing her brother, and Gregory is stuck in his
aristocratic ways. I loved this whole series. If you cry easily…you may want to
keep the tissues nearby.
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Eagle Harbor Series
Short Story: Love's Beginning
This is a short story that introduces the reader to a ten-year-old Elijah Cummings and what his schooldays were like having the very rich Gilbert Sinclair and his group of bullies around. And also a glimpse of a young Rebekah, his sister, and her feisty attitude at such a young age. And mostly it's about how he first fell for Victoria Donnelly. Their story is in book two; Love's Every Whisper.
Book 0.5: Love's Violet Sunrise
Hiram Cummings' dream is to be a lawyer. And if he needs to earn that money by working in what used to be a closet—a hot and stuffy closet—and listen to men complaining about the unfairness of his boss all day, so be it. Maybe things didn't seem right with his boss, but he needed to finish law school. To help people like the woman begging for his help.
Mabel Klause needed to get Hiram to help her. A friend told her he would. So she wouldn't give up. Her brother and their friends were being falsely accused of a crime and this man was the only one who could help them.
Being a Godly man, Hiram did what he felt was right. And as in real life, we never know what plans God has for us when we listen to Him and follow in the paths He directs us. Often those paths can lead to so much more than we could have planned on. Great story, and it looks to be the beginning of a really good series.
Book 1: Love's Unfading Light
Tressa Danell just wants to run her bakery and have a home for her son. But it seems that living eleven years with her dastardly husband wasn't enough. Otis Danell is going to haunt her from the grave with his debts. And she's finding out the man had plenty of them.
Mac Oakton's life hadn't been easy. After his father swindled the good people of Eagle Harbor, Michigan...he left town. He left Mac. Thankfully the Cummings took him and accepted him as one of their own. Still, he'd be leaving this town who only saw him as the son of Clive Oakton.
Two people who are suffering for someone else's sins. One the widow and the other the son of swindlers. Neither seeing their true worth through the eyes of God and those around them. Wonderful story of breaking free of the past and believing in a possible future.
Book 2: Love's Every Whisper
Book 3: Love's Sure Dawn
Book 4: Love's Eternal Breath
Book 5: Love's Winter Hope
Thomas Dowrick had thought his wife and daughters were safely ensconced in her cousin's home in Chicago. He left five years ago to make their fortune in the mines. And now—after a near death accident—he finds they aren't there. His family is missing.
Jessalyn Dowrick had come to the conclusion she was a widow with three daughters and only had herself to depend on. She went back to Eagle Harbor and has done so well as a seamstress, that she has other women in town helping her.
When Thomas comes to Eagle Harbor it sets Jessalyn's world off-kilter. His too, considering he figured his wife would throw herself in his arms after five years of separation. A past of hurts and misunderstandings has built a wall around them. Such a wonderful story of love and forgiveness. To mend the past, live in the present, and pray about the future.
Book 6: Love's Bright Tomorrow
Sheriff Isaac Cummings didn't ask to be sheriff, but here he is. Suddenly, instead of breaking up bar brawls...he has more serious issues. Including a possible murder. Even with the extra pressure of his job and his continued fear of his brother Elijah's water rescues—he still hopes that Aileen will change her mind and agree to court him.
Aileen Brogan is still just trudging through life. If only her move to Eagle Harbor a year ago would have helped. But, she still feels out of sorts. As if she doesn't belong. Her cousin in Ireland needed her, but she wasn't sure that Ireland would feel like home anymore either. And the handsome sheriff wanted to court her, but he deserved so much more than someone like her.
Through trials and tribulations...the characters learn to depend on God and Him alone. I like how the author gives the point of view from other characters along with adding previous characters into the story. Wonderful series, I really enjoyed it.
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