An Unexpected Wife by Cheryl Reavis

As usual a too busy life with far more distractions than any one person should have has pushed me into the clutches of another romance novel. I complain about this genre despite the fact that I’m actually grateful for it. The one good thing about a romance novel is that I don’t have to think about what I’m reading, it is quick reading, and if I happen to put it down for an extended time, it is easy to pick up again.

This book is from the Love Inspired division of Harlequin. I quite literally just figured out who publishes the Love Inspired line of books when I typed the preceding line, and that really explains so much! I chose this book from the Love Inspired books because I don’t need or want to read something that amounts to nothing more than poorly written porn.

Unfortunately, I was not very impressed with this book. As I have spent the last 20 years actively participating Civil War era living history I determined before even reading the first page that I would not judge this book on it’s historical accuracy or proper portrayal of the period in question. As a Daughter of the Confederacy I further determined that I would not judge the book based on its portrayal of Reconstruction. Had I judged the book on any of the foregoing, the book would have received negative stars. Of course one look at the cover art told me historical accuracy wasn’t this book’s strong suit anyway.

I will say that the author’s ability to write in a coherent manner was appreciated. With romance books it is so hit and miss when it comes to author ability. Cheryl Reavis thankfully writes in an engaging style that doesn’t leave me feeling as though I’ve just read a grade school book. Certainly the writing is not scholarly, but that is hardly to be expected in any of today’s mainstream books.

The characters in this book were about what I would expect in the romance genre. Unfortunately, I found the main characters to be less than engaging. Don’t get me wrong, they were OK. I simply found the character of Sergeant Major Perkins to be far more appealing. In all honesty, I am hoping to see a book written for Sergeant Major Perkins! I do believe that would be a very good book.

While the main characters didn’t catch my attention as much as they should have, I will say that at least the author did allow them to develop. In fact, Kate (the female lead), truly seemed to grow up and come into her own through the course of the book. With Robert (the male lead) we had to take the author’s word for the changes in his character through other character’s thoughts and conversations, but even at that, the way it was written just worked.

The plot was OK. I don’t like to write much about plot because I don’t want to spoil the books I review for other readers. Please forgive my vagueness. All I can really say about the plot is that the climax of the story seemed rather farfetched and quite engineered. Yes, it served it’s purpose, but I truly believe there were better options available to the author.

All things considered, I’m not sure I would recommend this book. Certainly it wasn’t horrible, but neither can I say it was even average. This book simply didn’t work for me. However, should you find you want to read the book, I can assure you there is nothing in this book that a reader might find objectionable. In fact, this book is safe even for a teen to read.

The Carousel Painter by Judith Miller

So often I find myself disappointed by Christian fiction. The reasons are many and varied. Thankfully this book avoided most of the pitfalls. I will say that I really liked how this book weaved Christian topics into the story. Instead of just mentioning the characters were people of faith, the book actually touched upon things that we as Christians deal with on a daily basis. It was nice to see the author actually make daily Christian struggles, such as controlling anger and trusting in God even when things look bad, a part of the story.

The story itself was good enough, but not great. The "mystery" part of the book felt like it had been tacked on. It was as if the author realized she needed some type of conflict in the book so she added the mystery of the stolen necklace to create the necessary conflict.

I would have rather seen the author focus more on Carrie's struggles as the factory's only female worker, and her struggles to make her own way. Those two things alone would have created enough conflict for the book. Instead the author started with those struggles and then left them hanging to pursue the issue of the stolen necklace. Unfortunately this left both areas underdeveloped and falling flat.

Regardless, I did enjoy the book. I liked the tone of the book and enjoyed the simplicity of the book. I came to really like Carrie, Josef, Mr. Tobarth, Mrs. Wilson and Mr. Lundgren. The other characters were a bit under developed and one dimensional, but even so they were tolerable.

All things considered, I would recommend this book.

The Color of Courage by Patricia Davids

I really enjoyed this book. Of course it centered on horses and the military, so it was probably a safe bet I'd at least like the book. I can't say that the book offered anything especially ground breaking, but I didn't read the book expecting that. I knew this was romance and as such went into the book simply looking for a nice story. And this book delivered that. I really found myself drawn into the book, but I think it had more to do with the horse than the characters.

A Soldier For Christmas by Jillian Hart

OK, I have to admit: I was bad and I tried again to get my Christmas mind candy fix. This effort met with slightly more acceptable results than my first effort.

A Soldier For Christmas by Jillian Hart is Christian fiction. I enjoyed that aspect of the story because reading about meaningless, gratuitous sex just doesn't do it for me. Often it is used as a means of avoiding decent plot and character development.

Although A Soldier For Christmas didn't take place only during the Christmas season, that didn't bother me. I liked the sweet tenor of the story. Plotwise, the story was a little different from other romances I've read. Instead of the main characters being thrown together in questionable circumstances and suddenly falling in love, these characters had known each other in high school. So when Mitch, the male lead, walks into the Christian book store where Kelly, the female lead, works in his hometown, it isn't beyond the realm of possibility. It isn't implausable that he is there looking for a gift for his mother since he is visiting his parents.

Kelly, is dealing with issues of trust and worthiness brought on by events in her childhood. Thankfully those events had to do with being bounced from one foster home to another and having an alcoholic mother that dropped in and out of her life instead of the more heart wrenching variety of causes. She is also dealing with having lost her fiance. Thus, when Kelly is leery of a relationship, the reader isn't left scratching her head wondering why.

Mitch, comes from your "typical" family. It's his job that has kept him from seeking a wife. Again, a believable circumstance since he is a Force Recon Marine. His methodical approach to winning Kelly is also believable since I've yet to meet a Recon Marine that wasn't methodical in everything he did.

Having a military background I was a bit wary of how well the author would be able to portray a Force Recon Marine. I was pleasantly surprised. The author doesn't go into a lot of detail, which is probably a good thing since the author has no real experience with Force Recon. However, don't let that fool you. She uses enough detail to tell the story.

The end felt a bit rushed, but let's face it: This is a romance; you know they're going to get together. So, perhaps it is rushed, but who cares? I was reading this for fun and because it had my favorite branch of service in it.

All in all, I'd give this 4 out of 5 stars. But I'm biased. The fact that a Marine featured in the leading male role assured this book of a good review. However, the author's careful handling of Kelly's issues helped a lot, too. And portraying Mitch as something other than a gung-ho womanizer certainly scored points for the book.

So, if you're looking for a good weekend read, read this book. If you're looking for something more substantial, consider the book I'm reading now: My Men Are My Heroes: The Brad Kasal Story as told to Nathaniel R. Helms. Whether you agree with the current military action in Iraq or not, you can't deny that our men and women of the armed forces give up a lot for us to sit here and debate the ethics of this war; some even pay the ultimate price. Reading Mr. Kasal's first hand account of the fight for Fullujah and his fight for his life afterward certainly puts it in perspective.