Lisa Henson

Sundown closes out Susan May Warren's Sky King Ranch trilogy in fine fashion. Sunrise told us Dodge Kingston's story, Sunburst Ranger's. (You can read my reviews for those two books here and here.) Sundown gives us the scoop on the third Kingston brother, Colt.

Tae, the mysterious woman who helped nurse Colt back to health when he returned home from Nigeria seriously injured, is regaining her memories and her voice. The book opens with a bang, as they place themselves in harm's way to try to salvage Tae's backpack from the wrecked plane that brought her to Alaska. She's insistent that it has her research, and she's also looking to prove to the Kingston clan that yes, she did break free from a Russian who kidnapped her, by finding the plane, and hopefully, a body. Colt doesn't know the details of what she's involved with, but he is determined to protect her.

The tension ratchets up when we learn that Tae is a medical researcher, working on a vaccine to protect against an ancient strain of smallpox that the Russians are getting ready to unleash on the world. Where will they strike? When? Can Tae recreate her vaccine research in time to protect people if the virus gets loose?

The use of a virus that's going to cause a lot of trouble if it gets loose is a timely background. There are plenty of opportunities for heroics from the Kingston brothers, and plenty of bad guys who need a good butt-kickin'. But the story isn't all shoot-em-up action. Tae and Colt are both wrestling with their faith and their feelings, wondering whether the other would be better if they just disappeared back into their old lives. Colt is the kind of man who runs toward the trouble when it starts, always in the thick of things. He isn't convinced that God is really looking out for him, and isn't sure he can find purpose if he isn't actively defending against evil.

Warren focuses not only on the action and suspense, but also the importance of family and faith. The Kingston brothers have had their problems, some bigger than others. But when it comes down to it, they've got each other's backs. Their faith isn't something taken out for show on a Sunday morning. It's down in the nitty gritty, dealing with questions of God's love, relationships, God's purpose for their lives – real issues that any of us may struggle with. Colt and his brothers are a little bit larger than life, and a regular day at my house doesn't look much like some of the situations they find themselves in. But it's nice to be reminded that the God who cares about Colt Kingston, Delta Force tough guy laying it on the line for his country, also cares about me, fighting my way through traffic to go to a job I'm not crazy about.

If you like a story that's chock-full of action, with clean romance and characters that are easy to relate to, and one that brings a touch of “happily ever after” into your everyday routine, you'll love Sundown. Read the whole trilogy (heck, scroll on down and enter to win it!). Susan May Warren may just become one of your new favorite authors. She's certainly one of mine!

In Sweet Comfort, Gloria Bachman tied herself in knots to avoid owning up to her feelings for Mason Lassiter. (In case you’re wondering, I loved that book.) In Finding Comfort, will we see her finally admit how she feels?

I am so glad to be back in Comfort with Gloria, Kali, Lacy, the Bunco ladies, and the Knitters! Here we see Comfort going all out. They’ve got a gen-you-wine celebrity coming to town in Jazzy Mescal, and the head of the Chamber of Commerce has everyone jumping through hoops to get things small-town photo op perfect. Gloria has taken on the task of planning a mixer for the townspeople and the TV folks, but a blue norther blowing in during the evening sends everyone running for cover. The next day, when the storm has passed, a new storm is unleashed as the town learns Jazzy Mescal is dead.

Kimberly Fish gives us a heck of a ride trying to sort out this puzzle! Is it suicide? Is it murder? Does Comfort have a killer lurking in its midst? Drue has eyes for Jazzy’s father, Cadillac “Cal” Wilson, and she implores Gloria to figure out what really happened. Despite Gloria’s insistence that she’s no detective, she finds herself smack dab in the thick of things, chasing clues and trying to find patterns in the facts.

We see a lot of different threads skillfully woven into the story in addition to the main thread of the mystery. Gardner, Gloria’s frenemy from her Kerrville days, is in town, and she keeps popping up like a bad penny. She claims to want to make amends, but Gloria is having none of it. A supposed food writer for Texas Monthly is sniffing around, on top of all the press drawn to town by Jazzy’s untimely demise, and he claims to want to write about the food scene in Comfort, starting with Sweeties. What’s his real story, and why is Gardner hanging out with him?

As always, Fish gives us many characters to love and some to boo heartily, and she fills the pages with small-town charm. In this book, the care and concern people have for their own is on full display. Gloria may have questioned whether she really fit in, but here, her friends and neighbors make it clear that she is very important to them. And Gloria, after wiffling and waffling and driving herself bonkers with what ifs, finally has to own up to her attraction to, and feelings for, Mason. What does their future hold? Let me just say that Fish throws some details in here that make me love both Gloria and Mason even more! I just want to reach into the pages and hug them both. And there’s also a perfect setup for the third book in the series, and now I gotta wait. Whine, whimper. Waiting is haaaaard.

I’ll admit, I didn’t see the big reveal coming. Something I thought was a fairly minor part of the story turned out to be much bigger than I anticipated, and it made for some fantastic “couldn’t put it down” reading! Even when I thought everything was resolved, there were a couple of reveals yet to come in Comfort. How long do I have to wait for the third book?! That’s too long!

The bonds of friendship, people pulling together to support their own, the charms of a small town I dearly want to visit now, chocolate (because duh, chocolate makes everything better), and that sweet, sweet, slow-burn, second-chance romance for people just about my age. That makes Finding Comfort a whole lot of fun to read for this old girl!

Teri M. Brown has taken us on several historical adventures, and I have loved them all. Now, in her latest, 10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure, she takes us on the real-life road trip she took with her husband, Bruce, journeying across the United States on a tandem bike.

The title makes sense for a tandem bike ride, yes? Two butts on bike seats. But Brown provides an additional explanation for the title that I wouldn’t have known. I love books where I learn things!

A cross-country bike ride had long been on the bucket list of Bruce, Brown’s new husband. But a tandem bike ride was a different adventure entirely. Brown was a novice bike rider, still struggling with feelings of insecurity and self-doubt from her first marriage. Her husband, Bruce, had health issues and had to adjust his customary style of riding to his wife’s different style. And no amount of preparation and practice can truly prepare a person for this kind of undertaking. There’s no telling what will really happen until you’re living it.

With wit, gentle humor, and personal anecdotes from their travels, Brown shares the challenges she and Bruce faces and the things they learned. From hills, hills, and more hills, to weather, to physical and mental fatigue, they dealt with obstacles on each leg of the journey. She also offers insight into how the things she learned on the trip can apply to the reader’s daily life, too. Even if I’m not biking across the entire country, “Never quit on a bad day” is always a good rule to follow.

The book is divided into ten sections, with each section representing a rule from Brown’s experience, and she includes questions for self-reflection and space for journaling after each rule. I read a digital review copy, so I didn’t take advantage of the self-reflection part of the book on this read. I will, however, get myself a hard copy so I can reread it and do just that!

If you want a book that will encourage and inspire you, pick up 10 Little Rules for a Double-Butted Adventure. You might find some wisdom to start you off on your own adventure!

There are some of the Comfort books I’ve missed (they’re on my TBR – I just need more hours in the day!), but with Home to Comfort, I’ve now read all of Kimberly Fish’s Comfort and Joy trilogy. I have absolutely loved them.

We’ve heard about Patsy, Mason’s not-quite-so-dead-as-they-thought first wife, in the first two books in the trilogy. Now Gloria has a chance to help the law get up close and personal with Patsy and bring her to justice for her crimes and misdeeds. She and Mason travel to a Mexican resort, ostensibly vacationing, to lure Patsy out into the open. Let’s just say shenanigans ensue, along with some nail-bitingly tense moments.

But that’s not the only adventure in the story! Once they return to Comfort (and oh, what a hardship, leaving the sunny Mexican coast for a chilly Texas winter!), Gloria has to focus on getting a big order of Sweeties’ truffles ready for their debut at the White House. She is determined that everything will go smoothly, and so it does – until Gardner Rogers shows up like a bad penny.

Unsurprisingly, I adored this book! With wit and wisdom, Gloria navigates both the good and bad in her life using wisdom and skills she’s learned through her experiences. She’s comfortable in her own skin (even if she doesn’t mind losing a few extra pounds before she and Mason finally say “I do”), and she isn’t afraid to call things as she sees them. Fish also uses her seasoned heroine to clearly demonstrate that women should never be discounted as too old, too dull, too anything to make a difference. And they should never, ever be underestimated. I really loved that, as I’m getting to that age myself!

And for all the joy the book brought me, I was so sad to see it end. I’ve said before that turning the final page of a book felt like saying goodbye to friends, and that really hit hard here. I have so enjoyed getting to know Gloria and all the wonderful people in Comfort, I hated to bid them adieu.

This isn’t a story where everything goes perfectly, or where all the loose ends are tidied up in the final chapter. Gloria’s efforts to bring Patsy out in the open didn’t always go according to plan. The truffles’ trip to the White House might have hit a few bumps along the way. The course of true love doesn’t always run smooth, and friendships can be irreparably broken. But the ending is satisfactory. The right things fall into the right places, and I sighed contentedly when I finished the book, even if I did sniffle a time or two. Just like real life, we won’t always know what happens with the characters we’ve come to love. I like to imagine that Gloria and Mason find new projects and adventures to share, and that they settle into their marriage and live as close to happily ever after as anyone can on this earth.

If you want to read a book – verily, an entire trilogy – that feels like a hug in story form, pick up Home to Comfort and the rest of the Comfort and Joy trilogy. It’ll make you smile, and maybe make you crave chocolate and Mexican food, too. And with life being what it is these days, I reckon we can all use a little Comfort in our lives.

Brandon has everything he could want – except the hand of the woman he loves. Angela doesn’t deny her feelings for Brandon, but a previous bad experience with marriage has left her leery of another commitment. But Brandon is nothing if not persistent, and he invites Angela to come away for a weekend at the atmospheric Harbor Pointe Inn intent on persuading her to say yes.

Jan Sikes packs quite a wallop into a short novella! She doesn’t need 300 pages to give us well-written characters and a compelling story. Brandon could be the quintessential entitled rich guy, thinking Angela should jump at the chance to be with him. But Sikes writes him in such a way that you can tell he genuinely cares about Angela. I get the feeling that if she chooses to tell him no, he won’t give up on her, but he won’t act like a spoiled brat about it, either. Angela looks forward to spending time with Brandon, but she’s also excited about the weekend because she’ll have the chance to both practice her photography and do a little ghost hunting. She’s sensitive to the world around her, empathic to people’s feelings, and as with Brandon, you can tell she cares about him very much – even if she doesn’t think she’s quite ready to jump into marriage again. I really cared about what happened to them, about where their story went, because Sikes wrote them in such a likable way.

The atmosphere at the inn is both romantic and creepy. The cover portrays it wonderfully, and Sikes creates the setting that you’d expect from an inn on a cliff overlooking the ocean. The innkeeper is courteous, sure, but you get the distinct feeling he’s not being forthright. He seems to be dodging the question of what happened to bring first responders out just as Brandon and Angela are checking in. His answer about an unfortunate accident doesn’t ring true, and you wonder along with our main characters what he might be hiding. A walk in the forest sounds peaceful, but even as Brandon and Angela are enjoying each other’s company, I found myself waiting tensely, peeking over my figurative shoulder, waiting to see what evil lurked among the trees. Suspense simmered just beneath the idyllic surface of the inn and its surroundings, and it was fantastic.

The story intensifies slowly at first, but when the penny drops, it drops quickly. The resolution of the mystery wasn’t as much of a surprise as it could have been, given the actions of some of the characters in the book. But there was still the tension of seeing how everything would play out, and whether Brandon and Angela would get a happy ending.

This was the first of Sikes’ books that I’ve read, but it certainly won’t be the last. She had me flipping those electronic pages as fast as I could to see what happened next! I strongly recommend her book for readers who like a little mystery and a touch of the paranormal with their romance.