Shotgun Nanny by Nancy Warren was my favorite of the two stories. It’s set in Vancouver, British Colombia (how refreshing!) and involves a former RCMP (Mountie) and the woman he hires to take care of his orphaned niece. This story has a lot of well-written humor in it, making it a very fun read. Annie…
The second book in C. J. Carmichael’s Proposal trilogy features a love story that is neither particularly involving nor convincing, between two less-than-rational characters, alongside a much more interesting story about those two characters’ struggle to save a pair of innocent children from neglect and abuse. While the lead characters and the romance itself left…
Reunion by Kathryn Fox is an unusual and powerful historical romance. Unfortunately, the question on the cover – Would their future be filled with love..or heartbreak? – isn’t really satisfactorily answered. The question that still bothered me at the end of this book was, “Is love going to be enough to save this marriage?” Adam…
When I am cleaning up the kitchen for what seems like the millionth time or coaxing a reluctant child to do her homework, I remind myself that parenting has its perks. Topping the list for me is the joy of introducing my children to books I loved as a little girl. Over twenty years ago…
I’d never read an historical romance set in Canada before, so I was looking forward to reading The Third Daughter. Unfortunately, this book turned out to be a real mixed bag for me. Fox paired a likable hero who had an interesting job with a thick-skulled, overly tomboyish heroine, and those two did not strike…
Judith Duncan – who knew? Well, a number of people, apparently, from the grades other reviewers have given her books. This is only the second book I’ve read by her, but at this point, she’s two for two. The Renegade and the Heiress is a very good read indeed. Finn Donovan is a loner. Years…
I picked up a copy of Streets of Fire on the recommendation of Sandi Morris, AAR’s technical editor. She told me to expect a heavy read, but a good one. She was right. Sydney Foster is a successful businesswoman who has dabbled a bit in lost causes over the years. Her own history is as…
On the surface Safe Passage has a familiar premise: the undercover agent hero investigating the secretive heroine. The difference is in the details. The story takes place in British Columbia. The hero is a Canadian secret agent. The heroine is a motorcycle-riding entomologist with a dark past. Throw in a good amount of emotion and…
Irishman Braden Flynn, a constable in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, is in love with his best friend’s wife (Colin and Maggie from The First Time). Too honorable to say or do anything, Braden asks for a transfer to Fort Walsh on the U.S./Canadian border. There, he encounters Sitting Bull’s Sioux, on the run north…
This was the first romance starring a Mountie that I’ve read, and I liked it enough to wish there was much more of it. The historical setting is well-depicted, and the characterizations range from good to exceptionally fine. A fairly standard gentleman-meets-wild-child setup is enlivened by unusual details and a fresh outlook. The story is…