Book Review of Like Never Before by Melissa Tagg

I love all things Melissa Tagg!  And Like Never Before, book 2 in the Walker Family series is no exception.

Maple Valley became Amelia Bentley's haven after her heart and her dreams of a family were shattered. But when the newspaper she runs is in danger of closing, she pins all her hopes on a story that just might convince the new owner to keep the paper running.

After his biggest campaign success yet, widowed speechwriter Logan Walker has the chance of a lifetime: a spot on a presidential campaign. But first he has to return to his hometown to sell the newspaper he's suddenly inherited.

But instead of a quick sale, Logan finds himself helping Amelia chase her story. She's scrappy, but wounded. He's dependable, but lost. And working together to break the story on Maple Valley's unsolved mystery is just the start of the sparks that fly in the office and in their hearts.

Named to Publishers Weekly's spring 2016 "Religion and Spirituality" Top 10 list!

This book has everything. Romance, powerful characters in realistic and compelling struggles, redemption, hope and intrigue.There was nothing to disappoint in this story. 

Tagg writes fun fiction with a deep soul. Amelia and Logan's romance was deep and sweet and heart-tugging. The characters were real and vibrant and captivating. The setting rich and touching. 

There is a historical element to this particular story as Tagg dives her characters into solving a mystery of a local legend in Maple Valley. It was entertaining to see how Melissa Tagg wove elements of fiction (her characters) and fact (real curious events in history) to tell a riveting tale. 

If this is your first introduction to Melissa Tagg, feel free to browse a few other reviews I've done of her work.

• From The Start - Walker Family series Book #1
• Made to Last - Where Love Begins series Book #1

Also, check out her website. It is a real treat. Under the books tab you can find all her great stuff. As well as a prequel - FREE - to the Walker Family Series. (Download Three Little Words.) And be sure to notice that book #3 - Keep Holding On is already available. [Yeah, yeah, I'm a little late with my book #2 review :( ]
 
AND - for the Christmas story lovers out there check out Tagg's two Christmas novellas from Maple Valley.

YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."

Book Review of No Other Will Do by Karen Witemeyer

Looking for some good ol'fashioned fun reading? Try out the latest from Karen Witemeyer.

No Other Will Do is a Ladies of Harper Station Novel and full of some great lines, laughs and of course some love too.

The best part was the laughs. My first clue was the first line on the back of the book. It reads: Men are optional.

That was the credo Emma Chandler’s suffragette aunts taught her and why she started a successful women’s colony in Harper’s Station, Texas. But when an unknown assailant tries repeatedly to drive the women out, Emma is forced to admit they might need a man after all. One who can fight. And there is only one she trusts enough to ask.

Malachi Shaw has finally earned the respect he's always craved by becoming an explosives expert for the railroad. Yet when Emma’s telegram arrives, he leaves his job behind and rushes to Harper's Station to repay the girl who once saved his life. Only she’s not a girl any longer. She’s a woman with a mind of her own and a smile that makes a man imagine a future he doesn’t deserve.

As the danger intensifies, old feelings grow and deepen, but Emma and Mal will need more than love to survive.

This was my first Witemeyer novel and I was very pleased. I enjoyed her writing and her settings and most of all her great characters. The plot revolves around someone threatening the colony of women, hoping to drive them out. The women at the station don't know who is making the threats and as the threats amp up in severity Emma must reach out for some help. She calls on an old friend she trusts. One who understands her and her beliefs.

I loved that the book brought out so many different angles of who could be making the threats. I had no idea who the antagonist was until Witemeyer told me. I love that! Kept me reading.

I enjoyed the slow brewing love story between Emma and Malachi and how it started many years before when they first met (in the prologue, hehehe:D) So much was shared between them without a word. Here's one particular part that got a cheer from me.

"Emma."

She snapped her gaze to Malachi at the sound of her name spoken in his commanding tones.

"Fetch my rifle and saddlebags from the barn." She started moving for the door as he turned his attention back to the women. "Betty. Grace. Come to the front. No female is going to leave this room until she can properly hold and load a weapon. And the minute the new shipment Miss Adams ordered arrives, we'll begin target practice."

Emma paused in the doorway, glancing back to catch Mal's eye one more time. Needing him to see her gratitude, her faith in him, her admiration as he single-handedly turned a gaggle of frightened geese into would-be tigresses." 

There were so many great parts to this story. I have no negative things to say. A fun read for anyone who enjoys historical fiction with a twist.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc."