"Fire Storm" by Nancy Mehl - Kaely Quinn Profiler, book 2

When FBI profiler Kaely Quinn reluctantly takes leave to take care of her ailing mother, she can't help but notice a connection between a series of house fires in the small Nebraska town. Concerned there may be a serial arsonist, Kaely offers her services to local law enforcement, never dreaming how close to home those fires will come.

If you haven't read book one, stop reading now--there are some major spoilers ahead for Mind Games, and the shock value is worth it, believe me. Don't ruin it for yourself. Plus, this book will just make more sense if you know more of Kaely's history.

It's really interesting reading from the perspective of a character with major psychological issues (Kaely's great at what she does, but she's a real doozy). I did like Mind Games a lot more than Fire Storm (mainly for that psychological blow out of left field), but I'm glad we can see more of Kaely--she's such a complex character, there's no way a single book could do her justice. She does make progress in this book, but she's got a long way to go . . . I'm still interested to see what happens next (and the description of the upcoming Dead End sounds fantastic).

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Kaely Quinn Profiler
1. Mind Games
2. Fire Storm
3. Dead End (spring 2020)

"Now and Then and Always" by Melissa Tagg - A Maple Valley Romance

After traumatic circumstances forced her from her job as a nanny, Mara Bristol has finally found a refuge--an old Victorian inn on the outskirts of Maple Valley, IA. For the past year she'd been helping the owner, Lenora, take care of the inn, but when Lenora fails to return from a month-long trip and the bank threatens foreclosure, Mara worries she's once again alone . . . abandoned . . . about to lose the only true home she's ever known. Detective Marshall Hawkins is no closer to whole today than he was two years ago . . . the day his daughter died. Between his divorce, debilitating migraines, and a dependence on medication, his life is falling apart. And when a reckless decision on the job propels him into administrative leave, he has no other plan but to get in his truck and drive. A one-night stay at the Everwood was supposed to be just that. But there's something about the old house-or maybe its intriguing caretaker-that pulls him in. Together, Mara and Marshall set out to save the Everwood. But its secrets run deeper than they could have imagined.

Melissa Tagg's books just keep getting better and better. Set in the same quirky town as the Walker Family and Enchanted Christmas series, this has all the charm and heart of her other Maple Valley stories, but it has a mystery and touch of suspense to boot.

Like all the other Maple Valley stories, there's humor and quirkiness, but it's the emotional impact that gets me every time. My heart ached for both Marshall and Mara, for all that they have such different backgrounds. It was hard not to tear up just about any time Marshall's daughter was mentioned . . . or Mara's absolute aloneness and feelings of abandonment. But even if the grief will always be with them, there's so much hope, healing, and restoration. I like how another reviewer put it--"there's life beyond the brokenness."

If you want a story to tug at the heartstrings and romance to make you swoon, then look no further. Highly recommended. It's also the winner of the 2020 Christy Award for Best Contemporary Romance!

Maple Valley Romance

1. Now and Then and Always

2. Some Bright Someday

Related stories:

Walker Family
0.5: Three Little Words (novella)
1. From the Start
2. Like Never Before
3. Keep Holding On
4. All This Time

"A Maple Valley Romance" (published in Right Where We Belong collection of small-town novellas)

Enchanted Christmas Collection (now together in the omnibus Enchanted)
1. One Enchanted Christmas
2. One Enchanted Eve

3. One Enchanted Noel

"The Lieutenant's Bargain" by Regina Jennings

When a gunman attacks Hattie Walker's coach on her journey to an exciting art career in Denver, she is left stranded in the wilderness, only to be picked up by the local Arapaho tribe--a fate that just might be worse, if stories prove true. Lt. Jack Hennessy is called in from Fort Reno to rescue the tribe from the woman they offered refuge, and he is shocked to discover it is none other than the girl from back home that he'd never gotten over--not that she'd ever noticed him. In a burst of inspiration, he decides to play the hero and convinces the tribe to perform a ceremony to hand her over to him, little realizing that the ceremony they are all too happy to perform is a wedding . . .

Just as expected, I enjoyed the author's trademark humor and romance, but I found the setting and historical background of the story to be just as compelling.

Having studied the old military forts and Indian relations in Minnesota, I was excited to discover the tribal focus in this book. I was curious about how the author would treat the Indian schools; there was a lot that was wrong with them. A lot. But Jack Hennessy has a point in the story--better to go willingly to a school nearby than to be forced to one across the country where one may never see one's family again, where one will lose all connection to one's home, language, and traditions. The government did that, permanently separating many children from their homes by both distance and culture. I respect the fictional main character for building a relationship with the people with whom he was working, for not just expecting them to learn to be like him, but for studying their language and endeavoring to know them better--a mutual trade of ideas. His is an attitude that was frequently lacking amongst the American military and Indian agents. And I like that the portrayal of the cutting of Tom Broken Arrow's hair was treated with dignity and significance; not as just a common haircut, but as something sorrowful, something brave, something life-altering. It might just be the best scene in the book.

Hattie definitely starts out rather self-centered, but not unpleasant--I liked her throughout the entire book, which I cannot say for all heroines who start out ignorant and spoiled. But I really like how she grows and changes throughout the story, learning to recognize the beauty and significance in moments and emotions, not just pretty scenery. I especially loved her tribute to the school children. Even with how much I was cringing at the beginning (knowing how Jack's plan to impress the girl could only end in disaster), I really loved how the story unfolded.

Fort Reno
1. Holding the Fort
1.5: "Bound and Determined" (from the Hearts Entwined novella collection)
2. The Lieutenant's Bargain
3. The Major's Daughter

Ronie Kendig's "Storm Rising" - Book of the Wars, book 1

Tasked with capturing the ancient Book of Wars, Leif Metcalfe and his team are on the clock to prevent other interested parties from getting to it first--except that the infamous Bulgarian operative, Viorica, or the Wild Rose, snatches it out from underneath them. When Leif catches up with her, he forms a tentative alliance with the assassin, though he doesn't trust her and she doesn't trust him. But even working together, can they prevent a secret society from bringing about the end of the world?

This was a hard book to put down--between the constant action and the tension between rivals Lief and Iskra, it was easy to read just another chapter . . . and another . . . and another. I really liked Iskra, both her strength and the soft side that hasn't been lost in her life of abuse. She's a great match for Lief. And as for Lief--there is something going on in him that was not explained, only hinted at. I guess we'll have to wait for the next book to see if we find out what's been done to him. Curiouser and curiouser . . .

Sometimes I wished there was a little bit of an explanation of military terms--I still don't know what a KA-BAR is, or what SitRep stands for, or a lot of the other military acronyms--but it didn't prevent me from following the story.

If you like Indiana Jones and spy thrillers, this is a great combination of the two!

Thank you Bethany House and NetGalley for the complimentary e-book. I was not required to write a positive review, and all opinions are my own.

Book of the Wars
1. Storm Rising
2. Kings Falling
3. Soul Raging

Related series:
Tox Files
0.5: "The Warrior's Seal"
1. Conspiracy of Silence
2. Crown of Souls
3. Thirst of Steel

Abigail Wilson's "Midnight on the River Grey"

After her brother's death, Rebecca Hunter is taken under the guardianship of the man who was implicated in his supposedly accidental death. She accepts the circumstances only in an effort to learn the truth: whether her brother's demise was truly was an accident--or murder.

I do enjoy Gothic stories, and this one has all the right pieces--mysterious mansion, deadly bridge, suspect deaths, a heroine who is determined to get to the bottom of things--but I will admit this one wasn't my favorite.

Our hero is all things dashing and chivalrous. It's hard to believe he can maintain such a notorious reputation when he's actually very kind and good-humored--not dark and broody at all. He was impossible not to like. Rebecca, though, is impulsive, unconventional, and has a high opinion of herself. She is convinced of her own cleverness, but I felt she spent the entire book proving the opposite--her decisions come off as reckless and not thought-out at all.

The author did do a good job with the Gothic Regency setting, and the language feels authentic to the time period.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.