The Heart's Choice, The Jewels of Kalispell#1 by Tracie Peterson, Kimberley Woodhouse

 

Book description:

They must uncover the truth before it's buried forever.

After witnessing a wrongful conviction as a young girl, Rebecca Whitman--the first female court reporter in Montana--is now determined to defend the innocent. During a murder trial, something doesn't sit well with her about the case, but no one except the handsome new Carnegie librarian will listen to her.

Librarian Mark Andrews's father sent him to college hoping he would take over the business side of the family ranch, but Mark would rather wrangle books than cows. When a patron seeks help with research in hopes of proving a man's innocence, Mark is immediately drawn to her and her cause.

In a race against time, will Rebecca and Mark find the evidence they need--and open their hearts to love--before it's too late?

My review:
   Peterson and Woodhouse are a dynamic writing duo who consistently put out quality Christian fiction, so I have been looking forward to this series....though I had no idea what Kalispell is or what the jewels of it were. (It is a town in Montana, and the jewels are famous landmarks, this book being about the Carnegie Library).

  This book is an awesome start to what promises to be a great series. I read it in one afternoon, and it truly is a book I didn't want to put down. The authors came up with a great setting for the series, and of course a terrific setting for this book: a library. Not everything in the book happens there, of course...but the main male character is the director of the library, so it does play a big part in the story.

 Speaking of characters......I loved the main characters. Rebecca, determined to pursue justice and go where no woman had ever gone before....at least in Montana...and determined not to marry the first man she met. Then the main male character.....I don't think I have ever identified so much with a fictional character as I did in this book. And ironically, his name is also Mark.

 And there are other likable characters, even the busybody interfering wife of the judge who had me chuckling at her antics.

 The book also had a great plot that involved a bad guy with devious intentions. And I admit I was pretty surprised at who the bad guy was. There was definitely enough mystery and suspense to keep me happy. 

 And there is the Christian aspect of the book. These authors never shy away from that, and often - as they have shared with their readers - include in their novels what they have been studying in their Bible studies. And evidently when they were writing that book, Jonah is what they were studying. There were some great truths shared about that passage/story from the Bible.

 There was also the spiritual journey of Rebecca that was part of the story.

 This was a great read full of romance, suspense, mystery, history, and Biblical truths.....all things you can expect from a Woodhouse/Peterson novel. I am looking forward to what comes next in this series, and what "jewel" will be the focus of the second book.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the authors:

Kimberley Woodhouse (kimberleywoodhouse.com) is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books. Kim and her incredible husband of 30-plus years live in Pennsylvania, where they play golf together, spend time with their kids and grandbaby, and research all the history around them.

Tracie Peterson (traciepeterson.com) is the bestselling author of more than 100 novels, both historical and contemporary, with more than 6 million copies sold. She has won the ACFW Lifetime Achievement Award and the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award. Her avid research resonates in her many bestselling series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.

Check out the other two series by this dynamic writing duo:

                                              The Heart of Alaska Series

The Treasures of Nome Series

New and notable author Hallee Bridgeman

 

Hallee Bridgeman is a fairly new to me author. I had run across her last year at some point, and downloaded a few e-books she was giving away. For some reason they didn't grab my attention, and  sat unread on my Kindle for several months. 

Then I had the chance to review her first book with a publisher I review for, Revell. It is unusual for a major publisher to put a series out so fast, but the trilogy came out a month apart. Book 1 came out in September, book 2 came out in October, and the third and final one came out in November. The series is a military/ special ops series, and is likely the best series I read in 2022. Seriously, it is an awesome series. I reviewed all three of them, and loved all three.

 After I read the first book, I decided to go for the ones sitting on my Kindle. I first read A Melody For James, #1 in the Song of Suspense Series. I liked it well enough that I bought it and the other 3 books in paperback, and read through the whole series in a few days.

Bridgeman does something I don't know of any other author doing. If you join her reader's group, you can pick any paperback of hers for free. She writes a variety of styles: military, suspense, romance, I think most of her books are contemporary. She had a really good deal on paperbacks back around Christmas. A really good deal....so I bought up most of the paperbacks I did not have. There are still several I have not read since my to-read stack is pretty big. In fact, it is a 5 shelf bookcase plus. 

Of her books that I have read, her Love and Honor Series - mentioned earlier -  is my favorite, and is some of the best Christian fiction I have read. I am just one of many giving that series glowing reviews. She did a prequel to the series, Love In Any Language, and has another prequel coming out in August. Both are considered novellas, and both are 190 pages. Neither book is through Revell, the publisher of the main three books.

After that series, my next favorite would be The Song of Suspense Series. Each book has a musical term in the title:

#1 A Melody for James

#2 An Aria for Nick (had to Google that one)

#3 A Carol for Kent

#4 A Harmony for Steve

  Of those four books, my favorite was the 4th, A Harmony for Steve. Yes, the story is fictional. but it was amazing the transformation in Steve, the male protagonist. When the book begins, he is a druggie in a rock group that is pretty much demonic, and hates Christians and Christianity. I won't give any spoilers away except that he is an entirely different person at the ending of the book.

Bridgeman is another author I am glad I discovered in 2022. And not only is she a great author, she is an interesting person to follow on social media .

**I had written this up last week and was planning on posting it this week or next. On Saturday April 29, Hallee's 14 year old son, Jonathan (Jeb) was walking home from a store and struck by a truck, and killed. Please remember this author's family in prayer.

About this author:

Hallee Bridgeman is the USA Today bestselling author of several action-packed romantic suspense books and series. An Army brat turned Floridian, Hallee and her husband finally settled in central Kentucky, where they have raised their three children. When she's not writing, Hallee pursues her passion for cooking, coffee, campy action movies, and regular date nights with her husband. An accomplished speaker and active member of several writing organizations, Hallee can be found online at www.halleebridgeman.com.

A couple other of her series to check out:

                        The Dixon Brothers Series (4 books)

The Jewel Series (8 books)

The Shifting Current, Coastal Guardians #4 by Dani Pettrey

 

Book description:

An elusive killer. A false identity. A deadly maze of lies.

When Coast Guard Investigative Service Special Agent LOGAN PERRY’s beloved grandfather is murdered, Logan races to his hometown of Cauldron Creek, New Mexico to investigate the murder. His teammate and friend, EMMY THORTON, insists on joining him. Not a good idea—not when he loves her, but carries a secret that he knows will tear them apart.

Emmy knows Logan will pursue the investigation no matter the cost, and she won’t let the man she loves plunge into a dangerous situation alone. She needs to be at his side, even if he believes friendship is her only reason for joining him.

What looks like a robbery gone wrong rapidly shifts, drawing Emmy and Logan into a dizzying maze where nothing is as it appears. Every lead slips through their fingers as threats against them grow deadlier at each turn. Having only each other to rely on, their love for one another deepens, but will they live long enough to admit their attraction to each other?

They’re in the killer’s sights. One wrong move puts their future together and their lives on the line.

My review:
  This has been an awesome series, and it kind of ended with Deadly Shallows, the third book in the series. 

 However, readers wanted Logan and Emmy's story, so if I understand correctly that is why this book came about. And it is shorter than the other three, coming in at 210 pages.

 Though shorter in length, this book was still awesome. (But is it possible for this author to not write an awesome book?!) It was different from the rest in a couple of ways: the rest of the team were not in most of the book, and their role was different.

  I loved the characters in these books, but Logan has been a favorite. For most of the series, he was pretty much an agnostic or atheist, and fought against Christian ideals and beliefs. He had an implied conversion in book #3, and is a full out Christian in this book. It was cool to see such a change in him. Yeah, fictional character...but still cool.

 Also different: Logan investigating the murder of a family member.

 This book was a great way to wind up the series, and had everything one could want in a suspense novel: great suspense, a great plot, terrific characters whose interplay and relationship was fun and entertaining, romance, and of course bad guys. It did keep me guessing to what was going on, and had a great conclusion to both the suspense and the long brewing romance.

Looking forward to what this author has coming next.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Publishers Weekly and #1 Amazon bestselling author, Dani Pettrey has sold nearly 800,000 copies of her novels to readers eagerly awaiting the next release. Dani combines the page-turning adrenaline of a thriller with the chemistry and happy-ever-after of a romance. 

Her novels stand out for their "wicked pace, snappy dialogue, and likable characters" (Publishers Weekly), "gripping storyline[s]," (RT Book Reviews), and "sizzling undercurrent of romance" (USA Today).

She researches murder and mayhem from her home in Maryland. For more information about her novels, visit danipettrey.com.