What You Said to Me - Olivia Newport

 

Feeling like she's the latest in a line of women who make bad choices and can't find a way to be happy, Tisha Crowder ends up essentially doing community service time as Jillian's assistant.  Only, Jillian has a hard time seeing that there's any assisting being done.  Yet, between Nolan's unwavering patience and optimism, and Jillian's glimpses into Tisha's life, Jillian gains an understanding of what's inside Tisha, and together, they find that maybe there's some good in her family line after all.

This might have been my favorite of the series!  I really felt like I could put myself in the shoes of all the characters in this book.  I could see Nolan's desire to help Tisha, because he could see that her circumstances were turning her into something she didn't need to be.  I could feel Tisha's discouragement at her situation and her doubt that Jillian and Nolan meant the nice things they said about her, because it conflicted with everything she'd ever heard from her mother, and that made them seem like platitudes.  Even Jillian's reaction to Tisha was totally reasonable, because her project was important to her and her client, and it must have been nerve-wracking to have a lackadaisical, lackluster teenager mope into her workspace with no regard to accuracy.  While Nolan remained steadfast, Jillian and Tisha changed together, and their growth seemed realistic and satisfying.

I give this book 4 stars.  While it was my favorite thus far, and I enjoy this ongoing series and continuing to connect with Jillian and Nolan, they aren't books I see myself rereading, although I found myself wishing I remembered more from the previous installments as I struggled to remember some of the side characters this time around.

You can find What You Said to Me HERE.
You can find the author HERE.

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

When I Meet You - Olivia Newport

From Christianbook.com :
"A trunk abandoned at Denver’s Union Station more than a century ago leads Jillian and Nolan to untangle the mystery of its contents—including correspondence with the head of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency Denver office. While Nolan digs into the legalities of the findings, Jillian searches for the descendants of a stolen identity who might not be who they think they are on Colorado ranch land. When Drew seems anxious to hear what Jillian has to say but his Great Aunt Min slams the subject closed—twice—Jillian is all the more determined to find out what happened to the woman who never claimed her luggage, why Min doesn’t want to talk about it, and what will happen for Drew if he gets the answers he seeks.
 
When I Meet You is the third book in the Tree of Life series by Olivia Newport. You’ll want to return to the lovely Colorado mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that will inspire you to connect with your own family histories and unique faith journeys."

This is the third book in the Tree of Life series that I've read.  I still love the characters of Jillian the genealogist and her father, Nolan, the opera-singing, gourmet-cooking, lawyer, as well as the side characters in their town of Canyon Mines, Colorado.  I liked how this installment brought us a bit more backstory to Jillian and the loss of her mother, as well as the family history there that she's trying to uncover.

However, the rhythm of this story was a little bumpy for me.  I can handle the time shifting, but the correspondence added an additional layer of time lines, and trying to tie Jillian's ancestors in with the woman who was lost to history, as well as trying to unravel the financial mystery...it took me awhile to get the gist of what was happening.  

I give this book 3 stars.  I still love the concept of using genealogy and family history to tie people together and to even solve mysterious questions of the past and present, but I struggled to get into this one.  The ending wrapped up the story well, though, and I was glad I persisted.

You can find When I Meet You 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.

In the Cradle Lies - Olivia Newport

The Tree of Life series is set in the small town of Canyon Mines, and centers around Jillian Parisi-Duffy's work as a genealogist.  Besides her steady paycheck work of hunting down next-of-kin for insurance companies, she can't help but be curious about the strangers who wander into her town with mysterious backstories.  The Inn at Hidden Run introduces Jillian to Meri, who has run away from her family and doesn't want to talk about it.  In the Cradle Lies brings Tucker Kintzler to town, with his piles of cash and crazy dream to find the Inn's Hidden ski run namesake.  In both novels, Jillian works with her father, a lawyer skilled in mediation and getting people to open up to him, as well as a cast of small-town characters, to dig out enough information to piece together the history these folks need to find peace with their pasts and a path for their futures.

This is such an interesting theme for a series of novels; I love that the small town people we meet continue to tie them together, but a new puzzle for Jillian to solve makes each novel unique.  If you can suspend the question of whether Jillian should be looking into people's pasts who haven't asked, it's engaging to watch the story come together, utilizing a dual timeline to bring their past and current stories together.  Tucker's family history was darker than I anticipated, and I had trouble reconciling the quick tying up of ends with the slow reveal of the atrocities. 

I give both books in this series 3 stars; I enjoy the idea of the genealogical mysteries, and I will likely continue to read the series, but I don't see myself reading these again.

You can find The Inn at Hidden Run HERE.
You can find In the Cradle Lies HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

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