The Bequest (The Birch Creek Ranch Series #1) by B. E. Baker

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Women's Fiction, Romance
Content: Clean

 

Two widows, six kiddos, and a will that leaves them a massive cattle ranch, but only if they work it for a year.

Abigail and Amanda may have married brothers, but they have almost nothing else in common (and really, they never did get along very well). After their husbands both pass away within a year of one another, they have no reason to interact. Their connection drops to an awkward phone call on birthdays and an exchange of holiday cards.

Until an eccentric uncle of their husbands' leaves a massive cattle ranch to the women's minor children. . . if they work the ranch themselves. A ranch that's located near a small town on the Wasatch front that isn’t too keen on outsiders.

They're both going to turn the bequest down, clearly. It’s not like either of them could properly raise their kids or find love again in a backwater province like Birch Creek. But when things at home change dramatically—for both moms—they decide to give it a try. . . just for the summer.

What could possibly go wrong in a mere three months? (Or more importantly... what might go right?)

 

After reading Bridget's Finding Home series I was looking forward to seeing what other adult books she would come up with, and let me tell you, The Bequest did not disappoint me. I thoroughly enjoyed this book! It's contemporary women's fiction with romance, set mostly on a ranch. Just like her finding series, it reads very much like a Hallmark type movie, but it also has more depth to it than that.

One of my favorite things about Bridget's writing is the way she writes such nuanced characters. In the beginning, both Abigail and Amanda had things about their personalities that I disliked. There were also some things that I did like, but I wondered how I would feel about them over the course of the whole book. This is also why the book pulled me in, because as always, Bridget was able to show me different sides of these characters, and I was able to like them despite their flaws. They felt real, and if they had been perfect they wouldn't have. 

I enjoyed getting the different perspectives of both of the ladies in this book and how it showed that we don't always know what's behind the actions of others, and what life has been like for them. There was one part that I thought illustrated this really well, where Amanda thinks Abigail has given her the master bedroom for a not so good reason, but then we learn from Abigail's perspective that it wasn't that reason at all. There are so many times that we as humans make assumptions about other people that are wrong, and this made me examine the many times I may have done this. I'm trying to do better and always give the benefit of the doubt others, even though sometimes it's not easy.

I enjoyed the growth of the characters in this book and reading about how they were able to make changes to their lives and let go of some preconceived notions about each other, and also about other things as well, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I highly recommend if you enjoy women's fiction, contemporary romance, or light family drama reads.

Thanks to the author for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Miss Moriarty, I Presume? (Lady Sherlock #6) by Sherry Thomas

 

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language, off page sex, suggestive themes

A most unexpected client shows up at Charlotte Holmes's doorstep: Moriarty himself. Moriarty fears that tragedy has befallen his daughter and wants Charlotte to find out the truth.

Charlotte and Mrs. Watson travel to a remote community of occult practitioners where Moriarty's daughter was last seen, a place full of lies and liars. Meanwhile, Charlotte's sister Livia tries to make sense of a mysterious message from her beau Mr. Marbleton. And Charlotte's longtime friend and ally Lord Ingram at last turns his seductive prowess on Charlotte--or is it the other way around?

But the more secrets Charlotte unravels about Miss Moriarty's disappearance, the more she wonders why Moriarty has entrusted this delicate matter to her of all people. Is it merely to test Charlotte's skills as an investigator, or has the man of shadows trapped her in a nest of vipers? 

 

Have I really read 6 books in this series? For some reason it doesn't seem like it. Some of them have been more enjoyable than others, and I must admit that this one was a bit of a slow start for me, but in the end there was great payoff. Finally, there was the much anticipated face off between Charlotte Holmes and Moriarty, and while there were some tense moments with that meeting, I felt a little let down at Moriarty himself. His daughter, however, was something else entirely.

 

I think I'm a little disappointed that he was eclipsed by his daughter, but I'm not surprised, as I feel this series is all about showcasing how clever the women are. This is, after all a gender swapped version of Sherlock Holmes. And although Lord Ingram and Inspector Treadles are both clever in their own ways, no one comes close to Charlotte Holmes, except for maybe Moriarty's daughter. I just think I would have liked Charlotte to be pitted against Moriarty himself in cleverness instead of his daughter.

 

 

Don't go into this series expecting it to be realistic for the time period. Charlotte and company are much too independent to be realistic, but still fun to read about. I've been able to overlook this and enjoy the series for what it is.

What I mostly enjoyed about this book is the fact that we get answers to some long awaited questions, and also progress on the relationship front, although Charlotte's preoccupation with wanting to bed Lord Ingram was a bit overdone, especially when she was seeing suggestive gestures in the way his hand touched a throw cushion. Overall, I thought the mystery was woven really well, and it kept me guessing about some things for a long time.

Thanks to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC of this book.

The Dead Cry Justice (A Gilded Age Mystery #6) by Rosemary Simpson

 

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language, Child trafficking, Sex Trafficking, Prostitution 

 

Heiress-turned-sleuth Prudence MacKenzie and ex-Pinkerton Geoffrey Hunter step out of the elite society of Gilded Age New York as they venture into the city’s crime ridden streets and most dangerous neighborhoods to search for two missing children . . .

THE DEAD CRY JUSTICE

May 1890: As NYU Law School finally agrees to admit female law students, Judge MacKenzie’s daughter Prudence weighs her choices carefully. Chief among her concerns is how her decision would affect the Hunter and MacKenzie Investigative Law agency and her professional and personal relationship with the partner who is currently recuperating from a near fatal shooting.

But an even more pressing issue presents itself in the form of a street urchin, whose act of petty theft inadvertently leads Prudence to a badly beaten girl he is protecting. Fearing for the girl’s life, Prudence rushes her to the Friends Refuge for the Sick Poor, run by the compassionate Charity Sloan. When the boy and girl slip out of their care and run away, Prudence suspects they are fleeing a dangerous predator and is desperate to find them.

Aided by the photographer and social reformer Jacob Riis and the famous journalist Nellie Bly, Prudence and Geoffrey scour the tenements and brothels of Five Points. Their only clue is a mysterious doll with an odd resemblance to the missing girl. But as the destitute orphans they encounter whisper the nickname of the killer who stalks them—Il diavolo—Prudence and Geoffrey must race against time to find the missing children before their merciless enemies do . . .

 

I really enjoyed this latest book in The Gilded Age Mystery Series. This series has been up and down for me, but I thought the plot line for this one was pretty good. There were some things that were hard to read about with the child trafficking, but nothing was described in too much detail. I really felt heartsick for those children as I was reading, and I liked that the author was able to invoke that much emotion from me.

Prudence once again did some reckless things that irritated me, this is mainly due to the fact that she takes some chances that I think she shouldn't take, by not letting anyone know what she is going to do. I get why she thinks she has to hide it, but it's still stupid of her. Also, she makes a really dumb mistake at one point that puts her in real danger, and it was so irritating. I want to think of her as a smart woman, and she supposedly is, but then she goes and makes this blunder and it ruins any credibility she has, and it just makes her seem silly, and then the men in her life seem justified for not wanting her to put herself in any sort of danger.

I was hoping for more relationship progress than what was actually in the book, but at least the series seems to be headed in that direction. There are also some random odd POV changes, like that of the dog and cat, and I still don't think the animals in this series behave like real animals would behave, but overall I liked this book and I do want to continue to read more of this series.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with an ARC of this book.