Fields of Home by Rachel Ann Nunes

Fields of Home by Rachel Ann Nunes
(Summary from Author’s website)
“After fighting her way through a bitter and hurtful past, Mercedes Johnson has painstakingly carved out a life of quiet contentment on a Wyoming farm with her husband, Wayne, and their three sons. Together she and Wayne have survived the worst trials a couple can face, and their relationship has grown as solid and lasting as the farmland beneath their feet. If their relationship is not everything Mercedes might have hoped for, it is enough.

All that changes when the birth father of Mercedes' oldest child returns to Riverton. Dr. Brandon Rhodes, a renowned heart surgeon, has plans for the son he has never met. Resentful at the secret Mercedes has kept for thirteen years, he threatens the carefully balanced life she and Wayne have created. Just how far is he willing to go to gain what he feels is rightfully his?

As Mercedes uncovers the truth of Brandon's intentions regarding their son and the lies surrounding the past, she is torn between what is and what might have been. One choice, one decision, has led her to this place. How can she live with the consequences?”


So, I read this book right before I moved, and never got around to reviewing it. I really like to read Rachel Ann Nunes because she always has an interesting and strong plot. Sometimes I wish for deeper characterization, but her characters are all different from one another with different sets of problems, and attitudes, and interests. I think this is my favorite of her books that she has published recently. I really like how this book explored different kinds of love honestly, and how decisions we make in the past can affect our future. There were all kind of complex levels of emotions in this book and it was fascinating and touching read. I have say I’ve always been a sucker for the kind of romantic love that develops over time and is guarded by fierce loyalty and commitment. I was always the type of girl that liked reading the getting married to the best friend story rather than meeting a mysterious stranger who is dangerously attractive. As a result this love story was right up my alley. So, while I usually enjoy reading Nunes’s books the romance doesn’t always connect with me as strongly, but I really loved this one. I hope you all give it a chance and read it.

Saving Madeline by Rachel Ann Nunes

Saving Madeline by Rachel Ann Nunes

"As a public defender, Caitlin McLoughlin dreams of someday locking the bad guys in prison instead of defending them. But prosecuting jobs are scarce, and Caitlin’s future seems bleak. When her current client is about to walk away from a brutal crime, she risks her career to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. Yet what if her choice means sacrificing her career and the means care for her mentally disabled sister?

Then Caitlin meets Parker Hathaway, charged with kidnapping four-year-old Madeline. Just another criminal, another job, Caitlin thinks. But Parker tells a far different story. Can Caitlin believe him, as her heart urges? Is she willing to put everything on the line to defend her client—a man who claims to be protecting the child he loves? Or is her trust better placed in the handsome deputy district attorney with his undefeated record in court?

Caitlin’s pursuit of the truth swiftly thrusts her into a maze of unanswered questions and unexpected heartache.Meanwhile, time is running out for Madeline. If Caitlin doesn't find the proof she is looking for soon, there may not be a future for any of them" *(summary from author's website)

Rachel Ann Nunes had presented the market with another issue-driven romance, inspired by a news story about a man, who kidnapped his own child to protect her from her mother’s drug abuse. The girl was taken away from her father only to die a few days later from ingesting an unattended bag of drugs.

This story follows a similar thread, except the main characters Parker and Caitlin need to prove that Madeline’s mother has been using drugs to provide him a defense for kidnapping his own daughter. A task that is harder than they thought it would be considering her shady past history, and Caitlin begins to doubt that Parker is telling the truth about his wife. Parker is ready to give up everything to save his daughter, and you sympathize with his predicament along with the hard choices that it forces him to make. I liked that Caitlin was a good attorney, hard and cold when she needed to be, but warm and human at the same time. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and wanted to know what happened to the characters at the end. I was especially intrigued by the legal bent, and touched by the author’s desire to tell the story of children who lived in dangerous homes because of drug-use.

Rachel Ann Nunes Author's Website

Eyes of a Stranger by Rachel Ann Nunes

Eyes of a Stranger by Rachel Ann Nunes

As Tawnia McKnight drives into Portland, leaving behind her boyfriend Bret Winn and her old job, she narrowly avoids a tragedy. One of the main bridges leading into the city collapses, injuring and killing many people. The tragedy leads Bret, a bridge engineer, back into her life, but while investigating the cause of the bridge collapse he finds a woman standing at the water’s edge that has the same strange eyes as Tawnia, and mistakes them to be the same person at first.

This woman, Autumn Rain, has lost her father in the bridge collapse and needs help getting back on her feet. Tawnia takes her under her wing, but they are so similar that she wonders about her mysterious adoption, especially since Autumn was adopted also. Autumn shows an interest in Bret, and Tawnia’s feelings are torn between her attraction to Bret, and a new handsome firefighter that saved Autumn during the bridge collapse. Yet, the situation turns dangerous when they discover that the bridge disaster was not caused by structural weaknesses, but by explosives.

I enjoyed reading this book, and the multiple plot lines that the author threaded through the story. I also liked how the author cleverly got her characters to be in the same place at the same time without it seeming too easy, and believable. I’m not sure what else to say about the book, but I like Nunes because she always puts out a good product. I wish for more character depth sometimes (like I do the majority of the time), but she always has interesting conflicts and plots. Plus, I always feel that she is one of the less melodramatic romance authors in the market, and that is refreshing. So, in short I liked it, but it won't be on my favorites list.

Book Review:Flying Home by Rachel Ann Nunes

Flying Home by Rachel Ann Nunes

Liana Winn, adopted into her aunts family as a young child after her own parents died in a tragic plane accident, feels that she does not truly belong with them. She looks on unable to allow herself to love them. Vague memories and nightmares surrounding the plane crash continually cause her to question her past, and hold herself back from close relationships. Austin Walker then comes into her life unexpectedly and she finds that she must come to peace with her past before she can accept a relationship with him. For the first time in years she is able to relax and be herself around his older sister, Mercedes, on her farm in Wyoming. Mercedes encourages her to fly to India where her parents died, and discover what is haunting her about her past. What she finds in India is another surprise that makes her question who she really is.
Still reeling with the information she discovers she must return to America because of a tragedy in her family that makes her realize how much she really does belong and love them.
I enjoyed this book, and thought that it had an interesting plot. I thought had the ending pegged down from the beginning, but alas I was surprised as the author took the story on a different turn than I expected. I like how the ending wasn’t tidied up too nicely, and there were still a few loose ends. Not everything worked out perfectly, but the ending still offered hope and comfort. I love how the author reconnects the character with her past, and thought she did a really great job with Liana’s confusing and confliction emotions concerning her adoption. I’ve been looking forward to getting around to this book for a while now and I’m glad that I finally read it.

Rachel Nunes had tons of cool features on her website so go check it out!
Rachel Ann Nunes website: http://www.rachelannnunes.com/