Sunday, May 31, 2015

A Review of Dee Henderson's Taken

 Dee Henderson has been a favorite author of mine for a long time.  I thoroughly enjoy most of her books and this book was no exception.  

Taken is the story of Shannon Bliss, a young woman who had disappeared eleven years earlier. Shannon is trying to find her way back home, and she has tracked down Matthew Dane to help her. Matthew has the experience and resources needed to help Shannon get home.  Throughout the story, characters from previous novels aid Shannon along the way as well. 

This book was different from Ms. Henderson's recent books, and I liked that.  Some authors seem to get stuck in a rut and the reader can pretty much anticipate what will happen next.  Taken jumps right in and gradually builds on the suspense. There was not a lot of action, but it was not needed with all the information coming out about what had happened to Shannon. 

The storyline did not have as much romance as I usually like, but it did not matter with this novel. The storyline was fantastic without it, and too much would have ruined the story.  The book had just the right mixture of romance and suspense to make it a worthy read.  If you enjoy suspense and like anything Ms. Henderson has written in the past, then this book is a must read for you. 

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.*


Friday, May 8, 2015

A Review of To Win Her Favor

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander is a story about overcoming and persevering against prejudice in a world where a person’s race, gender, or nationality kept them from their dreams.  Cullen McGrath wants to farm and Maggie Linden wants to race her horse to raise the money to keep her family farm.  They both see their dreams become reality, but in a way neither expects.  Yet with each step they take towards their dream, more challenges arise and threaten to ruin their dreams. 
 
This book had me hooked right from the start.  I found it very easy to identify with Cullen and Maggie as they look for ways to overcome their adversity.  Cullen faces antagonism from the first.  I’ll have to admit, I never really thought about the Irish and what they may have faced when trying to start new lives in America.  It’s common knowledge that although women and former slaves were free, in a sense they were still chained by societal prejudices.  Cullen, who was also free, found himself chained by the same societal prejudices.  Cullen and Maggie have to learn to work together to free themselves from these chains.
  
The struggles that these characters go through are very real, and I found it easy to identify with the characters.  Several parts of the story had me in tears, both happy tears and sad tears.  I also identified with Maggie’s stubborn streak, and her willingness to cross boundaries that before had been closed off to her, to forge friendships with people she would not have before considered as friends.  Cullen and Maggie find the strength to overcome these obstacles, and also find love.
The book did have some intimate scenes between Cullen and Maggie. These were after they were married, which is as God intended. These scenes were fairly crucial to the relationship between the main characters and really add to the storyline. I was not bothered by these scenes in the least. 
 
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!