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Catherine Castle

~ Romance for the Ages

Catherine Castle

Tag Archives: Catherine’s Comments Book Reviews

Catherine’s Comments Beast of Stratton Book Review

04 Saturday Apr 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, books, Catherine's Comments

≈ Comments Off on Catherine’s Comments Beast of Stratton Book Review

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authorRenee Blare, Beast of Stratton book review, Beauty and the Beast plot line, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, inspiratiional romanctic suspense

BeastofStratton_eBook (1) (333x500)Beast of Stratton

by Renee Blare

In Beast of Stratton inspirational romance author Renee Blare has crafted a Beauty and the Beast novella with a suspenseful, mystery twist ending.

Miles Stratton appears the beast, but architect Aimee Hart, who is spying on Stratton’s company, sees the beast’s heart.

Determined to locate her father, who went missing while working for Miles Stratton, Aimee infiltrates Stratton’s engineering firm as a secretary. Miles has been betrayed by his best friend, Aimee’s father, and is not happy to find a traitor’s daughter working at his company. Rather than deal with Aimee, a physically and emotionally wounded Miles prefers to hide. But when he discovers Aimee’s spying on his company, he can’t help but get involved with the woman who soothes his soul and holds the key to who is trying to destroy Stratton Industrial.

Beast of Stratton is a well-edited book with an interesting twist ending, but I found myself confused on several occasions. I loved the suffering hero Renee created, and the way she displayed his tender side in the care of a rooftop garden. I would have liked to have had more insight into the hero and perhaps another black moment in the story. I think this book would have satisfied my desire for deeper characterization if it had been longer and not a novella. It’s hard to really get into deep into a character in a shorter story, and I wanted to delve deeper into Miles’ angst and the history behind Aimee’s rationale for spying. Also, the ending felt a bit rushed, which I attribute to the shorter length of a novella.

All in all, Beast of Stratton was still a good read—a fast-paced page turner that even those who don’t normally read inspirational fiction might like.

Three stars for Beast of Stratton.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review

 

Catherine’s Comments–When Clouds Gather Book Review

27 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, books, Catherine's Comments

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Catherine Castle's book reviews, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, romantic suspense and mystery, Ryan Jo Summers, When Clouds Gather

 

WCG Large (1)When Clouds Gather by Ryan Jo Summers

 

When a man is murdered in her B&B, Darby Adams loses her clientele, is ostracized by the community, and becomes the subject of a private investigation begun by the family of the murdered man who believe she is the murderer. When PI Sam Golden starts investigating Darby, and declares her innocent, he puts both Darby and her son and himself and his daughter in danger.

Having loved Ryan’s Christian time travel romance Shimmers of Stardust I was hoping for another hero that gave me goosebumps. She didn’t quite deliver with Sam Golden, for me, but he was definitely a strong hero who could take care of his woman. He chased quite a few bad guys in some tricky places to prove his prowess.

Chock full of suspense and danger, When Clouds Gather is a solid, exciting read. With the empty B&B and the stormy weather swirling around the inn, this book had a hint of Gothic to it. A great story that combines action, mystery and a love story.

A warning to readers to readers of sweet romance, this book did have a short, open door, non-graphic love scene.

Four stars for When Clouds Gather

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

To read more on this blog about Ryan Jo’s book When Clouds Gather, click here. To read her interview, click here.

Catherine’s Comments My Candy Valentine Book Review

20 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, books, Catherine's Comments

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

book reveiws by Catherine Castle, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, historical romance, Holidays of the Heart series, Inspirational romance, My Candy Valentine by Darlene Franklin, Sweet

my candy valentine

My Candy Valentine is novella #2 in the Holidays of the Heart series. I have to admit I was intrigued by the concept of this series featuring stories in towns named after the holiday: Bethlehem, Texas; Loveland, Oklahoma; and Old Glory, Texas (Love’s Glory will celebrate Flag Day) written by Darlene Franklin. I wasn’t disappointed by Darlene’s story, either.

In My Candy Valentine Gilbert Williams sweeps Catrina Jensen off her feet when he arrives in Loveland, Oklahoma, shortly after New Year’s Day 1916. Sent to check out her delicious candies by a big city company, the heroine’s affection turns to fear when she discovers the real reason for his interest in her delicious candies is revealed. The story has a nice twist at the end I wasn’t expecting.

This is a quick, easy and enjoyable read, suitable for readers of all ages.

I give My Candy Valentine 4 stars.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

To read more posts on this blog about Darlene Franklin, click here.

Catherine’s Comments–When Dawn Breaks Book Review

27 Friday Feb 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, Catherine's Comments

≈ 3 Comments

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Author Catherine Castle's blog, Author Jennifer Slattery, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, Christian romance, missional romance, New Hope Publishing, When Dawn Breaks

 

WhenDawnBreaks_N154102_300dpiRGB

When Dawn Breaks by Jennifer Slattery

A Book About Love—Romantic Love, Parental Love, and God’s Love

Missional Romance is a term I’d never heard until Jennifer Slattery used in her bio on her first Wednesday Writers’ post, and I wondered what it was. After reading When Dawn Breaks I know just what this term means, at least to me. This book embodies a story that shows characters with a heart for others who have allowed themselves to be prompted by God to become servants to those less fortunate than they are. They are fulfilling God’s mission for Christians.

Lest you think this sounds preachy, let me assure you that, even though there was a lot of scripture in this book and quite a few prayers thrown up to heaven, I never felt like I was being preached at. Instead, it felt more like I was seeing into the angst of the flawed hero and heroine as they picked their way through broken lives to listen to the Holy Spirit’s urging. The many Christian elements in this story felt organic and right for the tale the author was spinning.

The book starts slow as the author spends a lot of time setting up the ordinary worlds of the three main characters, but hang in there. When things started to gel I wanted to know more about how the lives of the three flawed, desperately in need of love, characters would intersect.

The ending of this book made me cry, which is something many Christian fiction books don’t do for me.

Four Stars for When Dawn Breaks.

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

Want to learn more about Jennifer? Check out her  interview, June  2014, and Feb 2015  posts on Wednesday Writers

 

 

Catherine’s Comments–Calculated Risk Book Review

05 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, Catherine's Comments

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

book review of Calculated Risk, Calculated Risk, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, Inspirational romance, romantic comedy, Zoe McCarthy

CalculatedRisk_w11459_680Calculated Risk by Zoe McCarthy

Everyone knows opposites attract, but do extreme opposites attract?

That’s the question author Zoe McCarthy poses in her book Calculated Risk when actuary Nick, who never likes to be wrong, and social, expressive Cisney, who lives by a sticky note filing system, find themselves together on a Thanksgiving weekend, each nursing recent breakups.

Honestly, when I read the author had based the plot on the probability of romance between extreme opposites, I was uncertain about the outcome. Maybe it’s because I’m more the disorganized, multitasking person who starts in one direction but forgets where she’s going before she gets there. I got Cisney right away. Analytical, slow-to-speak people, who weigh words so long that you think they’ve forgotten you spoke, exasperate me. While I know opposites attract, I also know extreme opposites can be exceedingly annoying. I was certain the hero Nick would annoy me to no end.

But he didn’t. In spite of his inability to fully communicate with the heroine, he was compassionate and charming,. And, I loved the heroine, Cisney, and the sticky notes motif which ran throughout the book. I rooted for her to break free from the old boyfriend and overbearing father and to find her path back to God’s will and into Nick’s arms.

Zoe McCarthy has taken what some might consider a dull hero—an actuary—and written an entertaining hero who meets his match in a disorganized sort of heroine whom he can’t help falling for. The author makes this extreme opposites attraction scenario work. And she does it with flair and fun.

4 stars for Zoe McCArthy’s Calculated Risk.

 

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review.

Want to learn more about the author? Click here to read her Wednesday Writers interview.

 

 

 

 

Catherine’s Comments–Shifting Gears Book Review

12 Friday Dec 2014

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, books, Catherine's Comments

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

bicycling, book review, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, contemporary fiction, Sarah Kohnle, Shifting Gears, women's fiction

ShiftingGearsShifting Gears, by Sarah Kohnle, is a women’s fiction novel about a newly widowed, sedentary housewife and her journey from grieving widow to a confident woman … and she does it traveling with her uncooperative teenage son on a cross-country bike ride.

I have to admit I didn’t like the heroine much at the beginning of the story, but as I watched her grow, my feelings about her changed. I kept rooting for her with every little step she made from a depressed woman to a stronger one. Seeing her blossom from a dependent, uncertain woman into someone I knew would be able to make her own way was an interesting journey.

 

I especially enjoyed the secondary characters in the book: the crazy aunt, the Jamaican bike dude, the hippie minister. And speaking of ministers, this is a book that not only speaks about her physical and emotional journey but also her faith journey. At no time in the book did I feel like the author was preaching to me. The faith elements were organic and woven in such a manner that a non-Christian might enjoy the book, too.

This book is well-written with the exception of some bumpy chapter transitions and a few short scenes that made me wonder why they were there. I also loved the double meaning of this title. I don’t know if the author planned that, but I think it worked very well.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, and I would definitely pick up another story by this author.

4 stars for Shifting Gears.

Want to know more about the author? Check out her Wednesday Writers post.

 

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

 

 

 

 

Catherine’s Comments–Shimmers of Stardust book review

26 Friday Sep 2014

Posted by Catherine Castle in Book Reviews, Catherine's Comments, Romance

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

book review, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, Christian romance, Ryan Jo Summers, Shimmers of Stardust, Sweet romance, time travel romance

SOS Cover MEDIUMI was very curious as to what this Christian time travel story, Shimmers of Stardust, might yield, because I love time travel stories. And, with a few exceptions, I was not disappointed in this book.

The story begins as Logan Riley, a Civil War hero who has turned renegade outlaw—an outlaw with a conscious, is about to be hanged for his crimes. One hundred-forty odd years later, anthropologist Dr. McKenzie Lynne is hired by a group of physicists to find some great treasure that will prove time travel is possible. What she finds is Logan, a dusty cowboy buried beneath a pile of shimmery powder. She learns he is the great treasure and then discovers the true intent of their work. Horrified, she runs off, taking their great treasure with her. And the adventure begins as Logan and McKenzie try to outrun the physicists and the military they’ve hired to find them.

Ms. Summers has created a hero that gave me goosebumps every time he says, “Darlin’.” A 1800’s era outlaw with a conscious, he is out-of-place in the modern world and delighted me with his speech and his thoughts about modern-day things we take for granted. He really shines when he and McKenzie are on the run in the wilds of the west. He’s the kind of man a girl would want to protect her from bad guys.

The author defined the book as a Christian romance with a bit of time travel. I think it’s the other way around—a time travel romance with a bit of Christian faith woven in. I loved how the author wove the Christian element in without being heavy-handed. The heroine didn’t spout scripture and the method in which the hero was re-introduced to faith was organic. Because of her handling of the faith issue, I think this is a sweet romance even non-Christians would enjoy.

I also loved the story’s plot, although there were a few places where I wanted to smack the heroine because of her selective intelligence. She does some really smart things while running from the bad guys that made me say, “Wow. That was clever!” She also does some really dumb things that disappointed me. But then, I’m always yelling at the heroine who goes into the dark basement when she hears strange noises. If she didn’t there might not be any story.☺

My biggest problem with this story was head hopping. Yes, Nora Roberts can get by with it, and lots of authors practice it, but for me, this is a big no-no. However, once I got used to the bouncing POV, and overlooked a few small problems, I enjoyed this book.

Shimmers of Stardust shines with four stars. Brava Ms. Summers!

To learn more about Ryan Jo and her book Shimmers of Stardust, click here.

 

 

 

 

 

Catherine’s Comments — Ransom in the Rock Book Review

08 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Catherine Castle in Blog, Book Reviews, Catherine's Comments

≈ Comments Off on Catherine’s Comments — Ransom in the Rock Book Review

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book review for Gateway to Gannah books, Catherine's Comments Book Reviews, Christian Science Fiction, Gateway to Gannah Series, Ransom in the Rock, Yvonne Anderson

Lost and FoundI just finished reading Yvonne’s Anderson’s third book in her Gateway to Gannah series, Ransom in the Rock and I’m hooked on this series.

 

Fifteen-year-old Lileela is forced to leave Karkar, which she considers to be a civilized world, and go back home to her native, uncivilized Gannah. Angry and bitter over what she perceives as abandonment by her parents, she wonders why they want her back after ten years. And why does Karkar demand such a huge payment for delivering her? Neither she nor her family suspects that Karkar’s true motive is revenge. Believed to be helpless, without an army or means of defending themselves, the tiny New Gannahan settlement has no hope of repelling an invasion. No hope, that is, except for One the Karkar can’t see and the One Gannahans live their lives for.

 

I like Christian faith novels that don’t hit me over the head with a faith message- books that can be read and enjoyed by believers as well as unbelievers, and Yvonne delivers that. The faith of the Gannahan people is woven into their lives in such a fashion that it is real and believable. There was only one passage that dealt in some depth with salvation, but it tied in so neatly with the book that it really needed to be there.

 

I absolutely love the alien worlds Yvonne has built, and even though book number 2 Words in the Wind is more than I would normally spend on an eBook, after reading Ransom in the Rock I shelled out the money for book number 2, because I couldn’t wait to get back to Gannah. If you like science fiction, I think you’ll love the Ransom in the Rock –The Gateway to Gannah series. I know I do.

 

Click on the following link if you’d like to see my review for book number one in the Gateway to Gannah series, The Story in the Stars, . http://stitchesthrutime.blogspot.com/2014/07/review-of-story-inthe-stars-gateway-to.html

 

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