"Shadow of the Champion" by Clara C. Johnson

After her adventure in “Rise of the Champion,” Serra was given the title of Champion of Adhelm and sent immediately on a mission to arrange a peace treaty with the Queen of Crelia. But as always, nothing is ever simple or goes as planned.

From the very beginning, Serra and her companions run into one problem after another, and at first it even seems as if they made the voyage from Sostar for nothing. But it appears that fate is finally on her side when an opportunity presents itself that could prove Serra's worth to the queen and maybe even give her a chance to accomplish her mission.

This story takes quite a number of unexpected twists along the way, sometimes helping Serra move forward on her task for the queen, and other times causing her to fall back several steps & almost needing to start over from scratch.

But each encounter, whether helpful or problematic for the characters, kept me reading and wanting to know what would happen next and whether or not Serra would be able to solve the queen's request and accomplish her mission, or whether they would have to return home unsuccessful in brokering peace between the two countries. (But don’t worry, I won’t spoil the ending for you.)

I think readers will enjoy this book, especially if they read and enjoyed the first book in the series. As in the first book, the author has woven a story that made me want to keep reading to find out what would happen next. I'm already looking forward to reading the author's next book to learn what will happen in the third book in this series as I have definitely been enjoying it so far.

"The Amish Bachelor" by Samantha Price

Isaac Fuller was content with his life as it was. He worked in his father's company and planned to take over from him someday. He had also been dating Mary Lou for the past two years. His life seemed pretty close to perfect.

But then one day he walked in to find a woman he didn't know sitting at his computer and doing his job. And then Mary Lou started pressuring him to set a wedding date… something he just wasn't ready to do yet.

This was an interesting and sweet Amish Romance tale. It starts out simple & deals with a man whose world is rapidly being turned upside down, seemingly all at once. Can he find a way to regain control of his life without making a bigger mess out of everything?

I enjoyed reading this book. While I was able to guess at most of what happened in the plot, I still enjoyed it. The story was well written and interesting. It was a nice relaxing weekend read. And it left me interested in reading more of the books in this series in the future.

"The Dead of Jerusalem Ridge" by Jean Rabe

This is the fourth book in the Piper Blackwell Mystery Series, and the first thing I need to say about it is: Wow! This book starts out with Piper crawling through a muddy forest tracking someone, and the action doesn't let up any from there.

As expected, there is a murder that Piper and her deputies need to solve, but there is also so much more happening. And in the middle of everything else, Piper finds herself dealing with the awful after-effects of what was supposed to be a harmless paintball game with friends that wound up going horribly wrong. And it left her trying to figure out what exactly had happened. It was a question that weighed heavily on her mind, haunting her memories in a way that she just couldn’t let go of without some understanding of what actually went so wrong that day.

I love how Ms. Rabe gives us such full, well rounded characters and isn't afraid to show them dealing with a good number of very personal issues while still managing to keep the story on track, as well as keeping her readers drawn completely into trying to figure out who committed the murder and why.

As always, her book was very well written and practically impossible to put down so that I could sleep at night. (The ending even left me with a smile.) If you enjoy reading mysteries, I highly recommend giving this one (and the whole series) a try. You really won't regret it.

“The Gender Secret” by Bella Forrest

This was the sequel to “The Gender Game”

Violet has been set up to be used as a pawn by both the Matrian and the Patrian societies. She is being blamed for the murder of the Matrian Queen as well as the attack on the Patrian King. As such, it seems that both societies are now after her and the egg that she had successfully retrieved. Why this egg is so important even she doesn’t know, but it seems that both sides desperately want it and are more than willing to kill her to acquire it.

On top of that, Viggo is left to believe that she has betrayed and tried to kill him as well. So when the Patrian King makes him an offer to go find and retrieve her, is it any surprise that he would agree to join the hunt for the girl he had been falling for?

I really enjoyed reading this book and had a very difficult time putting it down to sleep at night. I have been totally hooked on this series and can’t wait to see where it goes after the end of this book and what we learned within it. (There is definitely much more going on here than first appears, but I won’t spoil that surprise for you.)

"Shamed Mail Order Bride and Her Ex Outlaw" by Florence Linnington

Odette was used to living in luxury & getting everything she wanted. But suddenly she was told by her parents that she would wed Mr. Hawthorne, a boorish self-made man whose only apparent redeeming factor was that he was rich. It was a marriage that did not appeal to Odette’s image of how her life was meant to unfold, but it seemed that she was to have no say in the matter.

Odette cannot bring herself to accept this mannerless man as her fiance despite her parents’ wishes, and runs off to the town of Evergreen to marry a farmer, believing that anything had to be better than being forced to wed Mr. Hawthorne. But is she truly prepared for the harsh reality of what life in a small Wyoming town is really like?

Once again Ms. Linnington has written an enjoyable tale about two people starting out as strangers who appear completely unsuited for each other can come together, embracing those same differences to slowly discover a true and honest love.

Even though I know when starting to read a new one of her stories that things will end happily , I enjoy seeing how the characters overcome their challenges along the way to discovering their happiness together. And in this case, both Odette and Wyatt have a number of obstacles between them. Seeing how they get through it all is what makes me enjoy their story.

"Midnight Moonrising" by K.S. Haigwood & Anne Conley

As if learning she was a werewolf, that her husband had been the pack Alpha, and that because she had killed him she was now the Alpha wasn't enough, Mena has been having a mental battle with her wolf. A battle that she appears to be losing by the fact that her wolf has been able to take control of Mena's body almost whenever she wants, regardless of what Mena desires.

It doesn't help that Mena loves a vampire by the name of Pheonix, but her wolf can't stand him and instead wants Alex, the detective who is trying to find the person who murdered Mena's husband. Being mortal, the detective is unaware of the existence of werewolves, vampires, or witches & must not be told the truth. Add to that the fact that some of her pack have rebelled & do not want Mena to be their Alpha, and there seems to be more than enough trouble for her to overcome in this book. But honestly, that's just the beginning. From there the hits just keep coming.

I liked this book a lot. It was fast paced and kept throwing surprise after surprise at me as I read. Parts of the book could have used another round of editing, but the story more than made up for that. But do be warned that this is not a story meant for younger readers as some of the details are a bit graphic.

I enjoyed the twists this story took & am looking forward to seeing where the authors will take this story next. I will definitely be continuing on by reading the next book in this series.

"Dream Angel" by Jo Wilde

Every few years, Stephanie (Stevie)'s mom would suddenly up & move the two of them from one tiny town in the middle of nowhere to another one somewhere else that was equally as remote, and where they would have to start out all over yet again. This time it had happened on her birthday, with her mother whisking her away from the few friends she had made without even a real chance to say goodbye.

But this is where things started getting weird. In the expected small town in New Orleans where they wound up, Stevie became friends with an older woman who could speak with the dead. There were also the usual "frenemies" in her new school, as well as a boy who may not be what he seemed.

There was a lot going on in this book. The plot twists started almost from page one and kept coming all the way through to the end. And every time I thought I had something figured out, I soon learned that I was wrong.

I liked the way that the author included a bit of southern slang when the appropriate characters were speaking. It added another level to the writing in the story that I appreciated. I do, however, wish that the book had undergone another round with an editor as it would have cleaned up a lot of the other issues I encountered.

Overall though, I did enjoy reading this book. As I mentioned above, the plot twists kept me guessing as to what was about to happen and the true motives of the characters all the way to the end of the book. And to tell the truth, I'm still not entirely certain that I really understand what was happening in the end. I think that I'm going to need to read the next book in the series to actually grasp the truth behind all the twists as well as to see what will happen next.