A Rumored Fortune - Joanna Davidson Politano

Tressa Harlowe has returned to her home, Trevalyan Castle, upon her father's summons.  Only, it wasn't her father who summoned her; he is believed to be dead, and his wife and daughter must take over the castle and vineyards.  However, the only money to run their lands and pay their workers with is that of the mysterious fortune that Tressa's father was believed to have hidden to keep it safe from greedy family members and fortune hunters - many of whom have now turned up at her door to seek.  Tressa's relationship with her father was mostly one-sided, with her following him around and taking in the vineyard's beauty and his teaching, yet with him keeping his emotional distance and refusing to give her any hints as to where he might have hidden the family fortune.  With time running out to pay those who are demanding their wages, can Tressa trust anyone to help her piece together the scant clues her memories and the house might hold?  What of Donegan Vance, the mysterious field manager who showed up claiming he'd been hired by her father?  Does he have ulterior motives? Is he as honest as he seems to be?

John 15:5 (NIV)

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

What a delightful surprise this book was!  How could you not love Tressa, with her wounded little-girl heart, and her penchant for running barefoot across the vineyards?  My heart ached for her as those around her not only literally betrayed her, but also wanted her to betray the very essence that God gave her - her loyalty, her colorfulness, and her desire to be loved.  Yet in those betrayals, she was pruned back to the only Vine which could sustain her, and in Him she found abundance.

This was probably the best Christian fiction mystery I have read in a long time; it was well done with enough twists to keep you guessing, yet everything lined up logically in the end.  You could see how the actions of those around her would leave Tressa not knowing whom she could trust.  With all of the pointing fingers and greedy grasping hands, it's no wonder she misplaced her trust now and then.  Once she realized there was only One whom she could trust, her true path became much clearer.

I give this book 5 stars.  This was my first book by this author, but it most certainly won't be my last!  I am already looking forward to the book that was teased at the end of this one.  I only wish that I could hear more of how Tressa's life turns out from here!

You can find A Rumored Fortune HERE and HERE (This e-book version is currently only 79 cents! Check price before buying, as Amazon prices fluctuate frequently).
You can find the author's site HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.

The White City - Grace Hitchcock

Winnifred Wylde is the daughter of an Inspector, and is known for seeing a crime around every corner.  However, when she thinks she sees a woman being taken during the Chicago World Fair, her father assigns a bodyguard, Jude Thorpe, and eventually allows her to go undercover to see what she can find out.

I have read many books centered around the Chicago World's Fair; knowing that this one was based on actual events gave it a very different feel.  I really appreciated the author's notes at the end, straightening out what was fact versus what she added to the story.  The slightly unsettling thing was that this book made it so easy to get wrapped up in Winnie's story and dilemma over Jude, that it was easy to lose sight of the fact that it was based on a real serial killer.  While the suspicious character was always depicted as shady, the depth of his evil nature didn't really come through until everything wrapped up in the end.  It certainly would have made it a more disturbing book to go more in depth along the way, but I think I would have liked some more hints or clues as to what he was really up to.

I'm not sure how much the police were looking into the case at the time, but maybe more of a tie in with a real investigation into the disappearances, laid against Winnie's amateur (and dangerous!) sleuthing could have given it more of a suspense and danger tone, rather than a romance book that happened to have a murder in it.

I did really enjoy Winnie's and Danielle's love of books, and Danielle's habit of taking Winnie's books to read herself.  I loved Winnie's few interactions with the bookstore owner, and that's the sort of relationship/character development I'd love to see more of.

I give this book 3.5 stars; I felt like it straddled the line of a romantic/fictitious suspense vs. a real-crime book.  Had it landed squarely on either side of the line, I think it would have fared better. (No pun intended).  I have already downloaded the next in the series, and I am looking forward (maybe with one eye closed!) to the continuation of the series.

You can find The White City HERE.
You can find the author's site HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publishers, in exchange for my honest review.

A Desperate Hope - Elizabeth Camden

In this third installment of the Empire State Series, Eloise Drake is tasked with assigning worth to all of the buildings and properties in the town of Duval Springs.  The town that she used to watch from afar, from the home of her guardian; the town whose current mayor, Alex Duval, was the recipient of more than her heart when she was only 16.  Alex, as mayor and descendant of the town's founding family, is desperately trying to keep his town, his family, and his family's legacy from being wiped off the map to make room to provide water for the people of New York.  Can Eloise follow her mathematical brain and keep her heart out of this job? What choices does Alex have to help provide for those who depend on him and look to him for leadership?

I was excited to read this continuation of the series; I enjoyed the character of Rosalind Werner in A Daring Venture, and I felt myself grow angry on behalf of the town that was going to be wiped out for the needs of the big city.  The solution that the town came up with was creative and risky, and I loved watching the town and the state workers come together to put it in action.  Eloise's character held so much promise.  As one of only six female CPAs in the state of New  York, her drive and love of math and logic appealed to me, and I was interested to see how that played out when she came back into the life of her childhood love. However, I found her changes of heart to be fickle, as she was courting one man while intending to return to a life that didn't include him. While I can understand her being unsure of what she really wanted, versus what appeared best for her, it seemed out of character to be misleading someone who cared for her. 

I also struggled to fit the pieces of the saboteur mystery into the story; when the culprit was named and the reason discovered, I felt like I'd missed something along the way.  It left that plot line feeling disjointed, and was a strange way to wrap up a story that was compelling enough to stand on its own - that of the town coming together to find a way to hope in the face of impending disaster.

I give this book 3 stars; I love Elizabeth Camden's intelligent, ground-breaking, female characters, but I didn't enjoy that, in this case, Eloise's brain became a bit secondary to her love interests.  I was fascinated by the idea of the reservoir displacing a town, though, and I wish a bit more of the true story would have woven its way into the novel.

You can find A Desperate Hope HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a digital copy of this book, via NetGalley, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest review.