Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: Raney Jordan

  • CROSSING PATHS (Geneva Shores Book 2) by Kate Vale

    CROSSING PATHS (Geneva Shores Book 2) by Kate Vale

    Two lovers reunited after decades apart, after they were tragically separated, find they can’t pick up where they left off, but love is always worth fighting for.

    Kate Vale fans will be pleased with her latest book in the Geneva Shores romantic fiction series that takes place in the Pacific Northwest. It features soon-to-be divorced Trish who is overjoyed to be reunited with Denis, the father of her grown son, after a boating accident decades earlier tore them apart. But trying to renew their relationship is made complicated by the great distance between them as well as her pending divorce with Richard. She is also intent on maintaining good relationships both with her son, Chet, and her stepson with Richard, Ed.

    To make things harder for Trish, Richard does not want the divorce and he is willing to go to great lengths to stop it from happening. Meanwhile, Trish and Denis are falling deeper and deeper into love. Trish is a character who many will relate to as she struggles to dig her way out of a mess that leaves her vulnerable. Though her relationships are not always easy, she is a kind-hearted individual who fights to keep her family together as much as she can.

    Richard’s son Ed, who helps run Richard’s real estate business, starts learning that Richard does not always close deals by the book. And Ed is already unable to connect with his father as he is afraid to reveal a detail about himself that may destroy their relationship. Trish and Denis struggle to make it as complicated family relationships and meddling from Richard threaten to undermine their newly rekindled love.

    Crossing Paths is a novel about the struggles of real and difficult connections that are glorified and demonized and reflects the conflicts and rapport of myriad relationships, romantic, familial and otherwise. Kate Vale excels at writing classic romance novels. Readers who are wanting steamy sex scenes or action/adventure tales should look elsewhere. Vale delivers real-life scenarios and characters that real-life women can identify with and then supplies the hopeful endings that avid romance readers desire. Pour yourself a cup of tea or a glass of your favorite wine and enjoy.

     

  • SPECIAL AGENT FRANCESCA (Undercover FBI Book 1) by Mimi Barbour – entertaining wild ride

    SPECIAL AGENT FRANCESCA (Undercover FBI Book 1) by Mimi Barbour – entertaining wild ride

    From the city that never sleeps to Sin City, Mimi Barbour’s “Special Agent Francesca: Undercover FBI” is a thrill-fest, rapid-paced investigative novel with a lot of heat.

    Mimi Barbour takes her reader in a rush to Sin City, piling on the intrigue and mystery within the first few pages, and, of course, introduces FBI Agent Frankie Donovan. Miss Fran Murphy, an alias our heroine uses while posing as a new hotel owner in order to fight the thugs who threatened the last owner. All in the chase to get Mr. D, an evil and violent crime boss in the city that never sleeps.That isn’t all Frankie has on her back: part of her undercover background is Sean Collins, her fake fiancé, so-called body-guard, and all heart-throbbing desire. As an initial series of bad impressions melt away, along with Frankie’s rigid professional control, she is able to help Sean realize his deepest dreams.

    Frankie is struggling to leave the shadow of her icy, overbearing, type-A mother behind in New York City while wrapping her head around the recent, sudden revelation that her father is actually alive and living in Las Vegas as a detective – with a wife and three more daughters. As they plunge into building the father-daughter bonds denied to them for more than twenty years, professional intrudes on the personal, and Frankie heads for Los Angles to investigate a pair of kidnappers for her father. Sean takes co-pilot, until Frankie lets loose a little more control, and their impromptu vacation heats up fast.

    Author Mimi Barbour does not pull punches in the drama and keeps the tension wound, throwing Frankie, who deplores violence, into fight after fight, culminating in a prize-fight challenge that could put Frankie in way over her pretty head.

    And she’s not the only one with mysteries to solve and confrontations to face: something is going on with Sean’s best friend, and he’ll bring all his experience as a psychologist to figure it out. Anticipation and action ride high and higher still in this rapid pace investigative novel, dangling the hope of happiness for Special Agent Francesca over the threat to her life.

    Barbour professes to enjoy cop TV shows and that  was what inspired her to create her FBI agent series. She placed the first in the series in the hotbed of Las Vegas, the gambling capital of North America. The story explodes with steamy scenes, gritty language, and a lot of action – a lot of page turning action in this entertaining debut.

  • ELANRAIGH: The VOW by S. A. Hunter – a high fantasy of a destiny to be fulfilled

    ELANRAIGH: The VOW by S. A. Hunter – a high fantasy of a destiny to be fulfilled

    The great northern forest of Elanraigh is sentient, but only one young noble lady, Thera, can hear its singing and its warning of approaching destruction.

    With dreams of black sails, an old enemy returns to harry the shores of Allenholme and if Thera’s ducal father cannot form an alliance with the Ttmarini who share the love of Elanraigh, the attack will not end in the central forest. The last thing Thera wants is to leave her home in danger, but her parents are determined to send her to Elankeep where she can be safe, away from the fighting.

    Because her aunt is the present Salvai to Elanraigh, Thera will have the opportunity to grow further into her gifts and develop as a woman. Against her desires, she agrees to go, but only after the Ttmarini arrive to confirm the alliance against the sapient Memteth. By this chance, Thera encounters the one who could share her spiritual destiny, should she choose.

    S. A. Hunter plunges the reader into a world and narrative that both encourages them to look through more than human eyes, yet keeps the realities of human limitations in mind while facing overwhelming influences. Animals, trees, and incorporeal elementals become Thera’s allies, while she earns the respect and loyalty of the soldier-guards at Elankeep. Many of these soldiers are women, initially presented as almost common-place, an option for women with the will to fight. As Thera grows in awareness, so does the reader, to the very familiar imbalance of power between male and female.

    Patience, humility and honesty form the core of Thera’s character even as the events and dangers facing her temper her strength. As the complications of adulthood and intrigue peel back Thera’s innocence, she will need that strength to face the challenges set-up for the sequel.

    Although strictly presented as an enemy, S. A. Hunter introduces questions and potential inconsistencies about the Memteth raiders that allow for more than black and white, villains and hero-defenders. There are motivations that are not yet understood and secrets that still must be explored. Vividly depicting nature balanced between sea, mountains and forest, S. A. Hunter gives a story that will draw the reader in and leave them ready for more – for the next step of Thera’s growth into the Salvai of Elanraigh.

  • “A Lesson in Love” by Heather Westing

    “A Lesson in Love” by Heather Westing

    A Lesson in Love is an engaging reminder that we all need forgiveness and love in our lives to fully meet the challenges and opportunities that life presents to us.

    A sheltered young woman, recently graduated from Bible College back east, is determined not to continue to live in a protective environment where she is shielded from temptation, but to live in the world as an example of her Christian faith.

    However, Holly Boardman learns quickly that her beliefs and values will be challenged at every turn–especially when she moves to Victoria, home of the Canadian Pacific Naval Fleet. One of the first hard lessons that Holly learned when she moved to Victoria was from Glenn, a handsome and, seemingly, charming young navy man. She still feels the emotional scars from his ridiculing of her beliefs and the heartbreak that she endured when she finally had to break off with him when he wanted more from her than she was willing to give. Not only did she lose him, but she also lost the circle of new friends that came with him. The close-knit Navy community that she was instantly part of when she dated Glenn immediately ostracized her upon the break-up.

    A few years older and a little wiser, Holly knows now that she did the right thing, but thinking about it is still hurtful. Holly had learned her lesson; she had sworn off from dating Navy men. That is until a widowed handsome young naval officer picks up his young son from the day care center where she works. She finds herself being swept up in Eric Larsen’s winsome ways and can’t stop smiling when she thinks about him. Will Holly take a chance on another seemingly well-mannered, handsome young man in uniform who may try to undermine her faith in the Lord?

    She is cautioned by her best friend, Yuko, to question whether or not Eric’s charm is just a façade like Glenn’s. Holly soon learns that to forgive and forget is easier said than done when she finds out that Eric has a predator reputation for smooth-talking women to bed.

    And will Eric believe that Holly is sincere in her Christian faith when he learns that she dated Glenn, who is known for his excessive drinking and partying? When Eric and Holly are confronted with each other’s past missteps and mistakes, will they each be able to forgive and forget? Will they learn the lesson of forgiveness and unconditional love? Will they open their hearts to the Lord’s will for their lives?

    A Lesson in Love  by Heather Westing is a well-written and well-crafted contemporary Christian love story that is both engaging and inspirational. Westing’s descriptions of life in Victoria are vivid and lively. She writes of realities and challenges that young adult Christians deal with in today’s dating scene, but she reminds us that with God’s help all things are possible.

    We hope to read more of Westing’s inspirational stories.  As an added note: This reviewer particularly appreciates how Westing navigates the intricacies of ranks, acronyms, and jargon of the Navy without skipping a beat.