Friday, January 25, 2013

Heart of the Ocean by Heather B. Moore


Heart of the Ocean by Heather B. Moore
Summary:
A dark secret . . . a grieving ghost  . . . a handsome stranger  . . .
What more could Eliza Robinson want?
Except for maybe her life.

In Heather B. Moore’s enthralling 1840’s historical romance, Heart of the Ocean, Eliza Robinson has turned down the very pretentious Mr. Thomas Beesley’s marriage proposal. As a business partner of Eliza’s father, Thomas quickly discredits the family and brings disgrace to the Robinson name.

While her father scrambles to restore his good name in New York City, Eliza flees to the remote Puritan town of Maybrook to stay with her Aunt Maeve. Although relieved to be away from all- things-male and unforgiving gossip columns, odd things start to happen to Eliza, and she is plagued by a ghostly voice. Her aunt’s explanation? That Eliza is being haunted by a woman who died of a broken heart twenty years ago.

After Aunt Maeve is tragically killed, Eliza's life is put in danger as she tries to uncover the mystery of her aunt's death. She encounters Jonathan Porter in Maybrook, whose presence in the town seems suspicious, yet she finds herself drawn to him. When she discovers that Jonathan’s dark secrets may be the link between the dead woman who haunts her and her aunt’s murderer, Eliza realizes that Jonathan is the one man she should never trust.

My Review:

The tension of this story begins right on page one when the main character Eliza hears a voice telling her to jump off a cliff. This creepy encounter is only enhanced by the setting of a small seaside puritan town complete with a creepy lighthouse and mentally unstable inhabitant. This historical novel takes place in the 1830’s though I often found myself a tad confused on what time period the story took place in, as any Puritan settlement puts you in bit of a time warp anyway, but the main character didn’t give much indication in her observations as to the time period. So, I felt a bit lost in the setting for a while until I got to more of the story. I found Moore’s ghost story to be more sad than frightening, as Eliza discovers the past of Helena Porter the mother of Jonathan Porter—Eliza’s love interest. Giving birth to a child out of wedlock in a Puritan community was enough of a trial and then she falls into an abusive relationship that ends really tragically. It made me very sad to read about her life and her experiences, and those parts of the books were hard to read. There is a love story wound throughout the books and Jonathan proves himself to be a wonderful hero that always arrives just in time to save Eliza, though I did wonder if she were rescued a bit too much for the liking of the modern reader. Still I enjoyed reading their story and hoped Eliza and Jonathan would find a way to be together in the end. I would sneak to the computer and read this book  behind my toddlers back so I could get to the end faster. Overall, I found this to be an engaging historical mystery filled with both romance and tragedy.

This review is part of the Blog Tour and so has a giveaway attached. Enter for a chance to win a $25 amazon gift card.
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Friday, January 4, 2013

Dead Running by Cami Checketts

Dead Running by Cami Checketts
Cassidy Christensen is running. Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents. Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable. Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness. With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she’ll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them? When secrets from her past threaten her family, Cassidy decides to stop running and fight for her future. (summary from author's website)

I like how Dead Running combined a romantic suspense plotline with Cassidy’s goal to run a marathon plot. I thought having both storylines gave a nice balance to the story and I found good reason to cheer for Cassidy as she tried to achieve her goals and elude her enemies. This one if full of interesting characters, handsome guys, and a twisty plot that surprised me several times. Over all a pretty good read. Though, I did want a bit more explanation behind Damon’s background. I felt like the plot twist for his character didn’t really fit what we knew of him in the beginning of the book. I still kind of confused on what his goals were concerning Cassidy in the beginning of the book.

Visit Cami's Website

In conjuction with her blog tour Cami is giving away a $25 Amazon gift card or paypal cash and some arm bands and earbuds. a Rafflecopter giveaway


Dying to Run is the sequel to Dead Running and continues Cassidy's story with the men out to kill her family and her romance with Jesse.

Cassidy Christensen wants to run.
Captured by the traffickers who killed her mother, Cassidy's only hope is Dr. Tattoo, a man she loves but nobody trusts. When she finally gets a chance to run, someone else she cares about is taken. Running might be her only chance at survival, but Cassidy won’t allow another family member to be killed in her place.

This must-read sequel to Dead Running will have you laughing, biting your nails, and hoping for more.