Finding the Way Home / Jenna's Cowboy Hero / The Taking of Carly Bradford

Three contemporary romances for consideration (one is a romantic suspense)

Title: FINDING HER WAY HOME
Author: Linda Goodnight
Publisher Love Inspired
January 2010
ISBN: 978-0-373-81449-7
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance

Cheyenne Rhodes is running—far away from Colorado, and the hurt that destroyed her there. Just outside the town of Redemption, Oklahoma, she found two little puppies dumped on the roadside. So Cheyenne picked it up, and took the puppies into town, and to the local vet, hoping he would be able to find homes for the puppies.

Trace Bowman has a heart for strays, and he is quick to agree to try and find homes for the pups—but he also offers Cheyenne a job, one she refuses. But when Cheyenne decides to stay in Redemption for a while, there aren’t any jobs to be found—except for the one at the vet clinic. Trace hires Cheyenne right away, as an assistant, and told her to just do what needed doing, ask for help if she needs it.

Cheyenne reminds Trace strongly of his deceased wife, and she has a special way with his daughter, Zoey. But how can he convince Cheyenne to stay?

Linda Goodnight is a very talented author. I had the opportunity to read her The Brother’s Bond series, but they were all the books of hers that I’ve read until now. FINDING THE WAY HOME is book one in Ms. Goodnight’s Redemption River series.

Cheyenne is a hurting character, a former police officer, and skittish from her past. Very realistically developed. Trace is the typical hero, kind and considerate and quick to reach out to others in need. I enjoyed getting to know Cheyenne and Trace and the other quirky characters in FINDING THE WAY HOME, such as Popeye, and GI. If you are looking for a good book then FINDING THE WAY HOME is a book to consider. A flavored popcorn recipe and discussion questions are included at the end of the book. $6.25. 274 pages.

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Title: JENNA’S COWBOY HERO
Author: Brenda Minton
Publisher: Love Inspired
December 2009
ISBN: 978-0-373-81447-3
Genre: Inspirational/contemporary romance

Adam Mackenzie is a former pro-football player who suddenly finds himself the owner of some camp in the middle-of-nowhere, Oklahoma. His cousin was managing the camp, and had borrowed the money from Adam to refurbish it, but after blowing the money in Vegas and an ex-girlfriend, the money was gone, the girl was gone, the cousin was gone, and the camp was still undeveloped.

When Adam arrives in town two little twin boys and their dog ran into the road, and in an effort to avoid hitting them, Adam rams his car into a tree. Now his car is history, and the twins’ mother doesn’t seem the friendliest sort, but she has to be the answer to his prayers.

Jenna Cameron is a war vet home from Iraq, and her five year plan is raising her boys, recovering from war injuries, running her ranch, and not falling in love. How can Adam make her forget all her plans and open her heart to love?

JENNA’S COWBOY HERO is a book that was well advertised. I had gotten a couple free sample chapters of this book in the mail, and several cards advertising it. But I had another book in my pile with a very similar name so I wasn’t real interested in two of them. But as fate would have it…

Adam is disenchanted with his life. He’s had a lot of bad breaks, and inheriting a rundown camp (with the news that all his money is gone) and then wrecking his car, was just the icing on the cake. And of course, things could only go up from there. Jenna is struggling. She also had a lot of bad breaks and she didn’t trust men. It was interesting to watch these two fall in love. Discussion questions are included at the end of the book. $6.25. 277 pages.

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Title: THE TAKING OF CARLY BRADFORD
Author: Ramona Richards
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
May 2009
ISBN: 978-0-373-44340-6
Genre: Inspirational/romantic suspense

Seven year old Carly Bradford went missing three months ago. And there are absolutely no clues. Nothing has been found. Then, suddenly, three months later, Carly’s shoes shoe up, in an area the police had combed. The lady who found the shoes claimed that someone chased her through the woods demanding that she drop the shoes. She didn’t.

Dee Kelley lost her husband and child years ago and she’s determined that another mother won’t go through the same anguish. So when she finds the shoes, her only thought is to get the shoes to her police detective friend. She doesn’t expect to be chased through the woods and then hit by a car. But at least she held onto the shoes.

Police Chief Tyler Madison is frustrated that Carly’s trail went cold, but still, he is skeptical when Dee finds Carly’s shoes. How can they just show up? Some other child must have simply lost a similar pair. So, he doesn’t move on the pair that Dee found. At least not until someone else finds Carly’s dress…

THE TAKING OF CARLY BRADFORD is the first book I’ve read by Ms. Richards and this is one of the more interesting Love Inspired Suspense I’ve had the pleasure of reading in recent months. The characters are engaging, the setting expertly described, and the plot believable.

Tyler is the typical hero. Kind, consider, slow to anger, etc. Dee is hurting, and a bit unpredictable, which causes the police to be hesitant to believe her. And the point of view of a third character is heartbreaking. I enjoyed reading THE TAKING OF CARLY BRADFORD and recommend this book highly. Discussion questions are available at the end of the book. Available from www.steeplehill.com. $5.50. 210 pages.