Jaime Jo Wright's "Echoes Among the Stones"

Mystery begins to follow Aggie Dunkirk when she exhumes the past's secrets and uncovers a crime her eccentric grandmother has been obsessing over. Decades earlier, after discovering her sister's body in the attic, Imogene Flannigan is determined to find justice. Two women, separated by time, vow to find answers . . . no matter the cost.

Something about the story reminded me of the WWII film Mrs. Miniver . . . the era, of course, though this story takes place a year after WWII ended rather than during it (and in Wisconsin, not England). But there's also the unexpected and devastating death of not the soldier, but rather one on the home front who should be safe.

There's a strong theme about grief, and no hard and fast answers. But though there is no cure offered for getting over the death of a loved one, the author does offer hope for joy, even alongside sorrow.

Wright (as always) does a perfect job balancing the two timelines and keeping each one as enthralling as the other. It helps that they're pretty intimately intertwined, with the past timeline physically affecting the present timeline.

If you like the movies Casablanca and Mrs. Miniver, with their bittersweet endings, I'd encourage you to give this book a try. It might be a generations-old murder mystery rather than straight drama, but the 1946 timeline would have fit well with those films, and the present timeline completes it. Highly recommended!

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

"The Dating Charade" by Melissa Ferguson

Cassie Everson, after three years of terrible first dates, is ready to give up on marriage--and children--altogether. But when firefighter Jett Bentley reaches out, having remembered her from high school, she gives in to one more try at dating. No one is more surprised than Cassie when her first date with Jett is a knockout. But when they both go home and find three children dropped in their laps—each—they independently decide to do the right and mature thing: hide the kids from each other while sorting it all out. What could go wrong?

This is a story worthy of a comedy film. It's filled with all sorts of shenanigans and misunderstandings, with some pretty funny scenes first in Cassie's dating life, and then when both Cassie and Jett become guardians of three children each. It put me in mind of the hilarious but heart-warming movie Mom's Night Out (if you've seen it and enjoyed it, read this book!).

As fun as the story was, there was a lot of depth to the story too. Foster care is a big part of the story, and the author doesn't gloss over how challenging it can be--be it with toddlers or teens. And it isn't just the challenge for the adult doing the fostering, it's things that I wouldn't have thought of, like kids who eat sparingly and hoard leftovers for fear of going without, siblings not handling separation well at everyday functions (like church), or a bone-deep fear of abandonment that would push them to be the first to leave rather than be the one left behind. This is fiction, so it may still be prettier than what many foster families experience, but it was also eye-opening for me, who has no experience at all.

If you like books by Bethany Turner, Becky Wade, or Melissa Tagg, be sure to check this one out!

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

Related novels:

The Cul-de-Sac War

Elizabeth Camden's "Christmas at Whitefriars" - an Empire State novella

Mary Beckwith lives in a magnificent English castle during the twilight years of the gilded age. With the help of an American millionaire, she has succeeded in renovating her beloved Whitefriars castle into a splendid estate just in time for Christmas. Everett Wooten has spent a fortune propping up Whitefriars to add modern conveniences and rebuild crumbling old walls. Even though he’s never met Mary, they have enjoyed a lively business correspondence over the nine years they have been working toward a renovation. Now he has finally come to see Mary and the castle in person, but nothing is as he was led to believe. Can a Manhattan business tycoon and an English lady come to an accord, or will their joint venture in Whitefriars result in heartbreak for them both?

Something about the name Whitefriars had seemed familiar, but it wasn't until I started reading the story that I realized the novella was connected to the Empire State books. At last! We find out what is happening to Colin's sister in their moldering old castle in England, and how she has felt to be essentially abandoned in their ancestral home.

It's impressive how the characters shine, even in so short a story. Both Mary and Everett are complex--she loves people but cannot leave her reclusive home, and he's uncomfortable with people, yet he lives in one of the world's busiest cities. It was fun to discover Everett's hidden depths (and quirks), and to see Mary's heart for all her quirky (and next to useless) tenants. It was lovely to have a brief glimpse into the continued lives of Colin and Lucy, and Nick and Rosalind.

Empire State
1. A Dangerous Legacy
2. A Daring Venture
3. A Desperate Hope
3.5 "Christmas at Whitefriars"