Cause For Elimination by Marla A. White

 

Competition can be a killer…

 About the Book: Reclaiming her life after a devastating riding accident, equestrian Emily Conners' world shatters again when she discovers her friend and boss lying in a stall with a smashed skull. Now jobless, and with a handsome cop underfoot investigating the case, she's torn between wanting the killer found and keeping her own secrets safe.

Detective Justin Butler always gets his killer, but this victim has a stampede of enemies and few leads to go on. Stonewalled by the tight-knit equestrian world, he looks to Emily for help, but she's strangely reluctant. Is she hiding something, or is she afraid of their growing attraction?

 

Our Review: Cause For Elimination offers the reader an insider’s take on the seamier side of event competition. It becomes clear, almost from page one, that it is not all the breathtaking jumps and glamourous partying. Training an animal three times your weight and size is exhaustive, back breaking, and heart-breaking. Under it all is a relationship of mutual love and trust between animal and rider—and well worth the ride.

 

Based on a scale of 1-5, Cause For Elimination merits a 5.

 

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

New Dreams by Ellen Parker

 

Can a woman on her own trust the man with interesting stories?

 

About the Book: America beckons with opportunity during the 1850’s.

     Louisa Mueller, a baker’s daughter, arrives in Elm Ridge, Illinois with determination to learn English and work as a baker. Since the death of her sweetheart a year ago, she pushes aside thoughts of marriage. However, she’s intrigued by a fellow passenger who tells the most interesting stories.

     Desperate for a fresh start, a young thief takes the name Hans Hoffmann when a look-alike passenger dies during the trans-Atlantic passage. Vowing to be an honest man in America, Hans discovers temptation wears many disguises. Will the pair be rewarded as they attempt their new dreams in a strange land?

 Our Review: For those readers who have heard their parents, grandparents or other relatives speak of why they left their homeland to emigrate to the United States, New Dreams will ring true right down to the unbearable loneliness and wrenching fear of failure to fulfill long-held dreams and promises. From the first page, Louisa and Hans capture the reader’s imagination and heart with their goals and dreams and hesitations. Author Parker has a talent for infusing dialects local phrasing into her spot-on dialogue. This story is inspiring and heart warming from start to finish.

Based on a scale of 1-5, New Dreams merits a 7.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

Eyes on the Road by Karen C. Whalen

 

Helping people keeps her going.

 About the Book:

Businesses in Spruce Ridge, Colorado hire international foreign workers during the hectic ski season. One temp, Jaana Ivanov from Estonia, is found dead in her car at the bottom of a cliff. But, the car crash was not an accident. Jaana didn’t just take her eyes off the road. She was murdered.

Tow truck driver Delaney Morran often feels vulnerable herself as the lone female tow truck driver in town, so when the victim’s sister asks for help in finding the killer, Delaney begins to eye everyone with suspicion.

She might not be the best when it comes to towing vehicles, but she’s pretty good at turning up clues.

 Our Review: This is our first experience reading one of author Whalen’s cozy mysteries—it certainly won’t be our last. Her gifts lie in snappy, smart dialogue, a “heroine” who can’t seem to stop helping others and adding in an overall flavor of the glorious Colorado Rockies. This one’s a beauty.

 Based on a scale of 1-5, Eyes on the Road merits a 5.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews

A Heart Restrained

 

She refuses to sell him her company; will she give him her heart?

 About the Book: Caleb Zeno, a wealthy and successful media mogul, refuses to allow emotions into any aspect of his life, especially his entertainment corporation. When his company’s lifestyle website runs into competition from a small boutique company, the most logical solution is to buy out his rival. 

Fiona Hamilton’s lifestyle website succeeds due to her loving and caring treatment of her clients, who have become like family to her. She has no desire to sell to anyone, much less a tattooed, muscled, automaton. 

At odds professionally, Caleb and Fiona come together as a favor for Caleb’s sister. Sparks fly and sexual chemistry abounds. But Caleb can't let go of his abusive past and be the man Fiona needs, and she is unwilling to risk independence and financial security for anything less than a perfect happily ever after. Can they put their differences aside to find a viral kind of love?

Our Review: Author Wilck’s ability to create compelling conflict between two characters is surpassed by the infusion of lifelong effects brought on by domestic abuse—past and present. Caleb is astounding for his strength and compulsion to protect those around him. Fiona is remarkable for her ability to recognize what others need—then offer it to them without strings. In essence, she is a healer. This is a beautiful story with compelling characters battling serious social issues. Well done!

On a scale of 1-5, A Heart Restrained merits a 7.

Kat Henry Doran, Wild Women Reviews