Review: Stages of the Heart by Jo Goodman

Stages of the Heart
Jo Goodman
Release: May 4, 2020
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Love guides even the most cautious of hearts home as USA Today bestselling author Jo Goodman returns to the trails of the Colorado frontier.

Experience has taught Laurel to be suspicious of the men who pass through Morrison Station. She's been running the lucrative operation that connects Colorado's small frontier town of Falls Hollow with the stagecoach line since she inherited it from her father, and she's not about to let some wandering cowboy take over the reins. But newcomer McCall Landry isn't just any gunslinger. He seems to genuinely care for Laurel, and with his rugged good looks and mysterious past, he could be the one man to finally tempt her off track...

Call Landry doesn't expect much from Falls Hollow. He doesn't expect much from anything anymore. But Laurel Morrison took him by surprise when she put in a good word for him, a virtual stranger, after the stagecoach was robbed--and she keeps taking him by surprise. Charmed by her clever wit and fierce loyalty, Call finds himself falling hard. Now all he has to do is convince her he means to stay--in her bed, in her life, and in her heart.

Review:
I grew up reading westerns with my dad so reading a western romance feels like coming home in a way. Over the years I've come to love the romances put out by Jo Goodman. They always have interesting settings that just embody what I picture the Old West to be like and they're always filled with intriguing characters. The thing I love the most about Jo Goodman's books is that even if I don't love them, I enjoy them. I haven't read one of her books that I haven't liked but I do love a few more than the others.

While I didn't love love Stages of the Heart, I enjoyed the heck out of it. It's set a few year after the end of the Civil War in a station town on a stagecoach line that's hoping to be a station or close to a station on the inevitable railroad line. I loved the glimpse we got of how a stagecoach line was run with the switching of the teams and drivers! I was intrigued with the day-to-day operations of Morrison Station as I was the stagecoach line. And it was refreshing to see the impact the Civil War had on the West. It was a major event in the US but we often don't see the effects it had on the frontier towns compared to the East Coast where the majority of the battles were fought. It added a unique spin to the story.

This book has a mystery/suspense plot that kept me guessing to the end. At first, it seemed like it was a run-of-the-mill robbery and an easy case to solve but it turned out to be more way more complex. I spent most of the book trying to figure out the whodunit as the story progressed and I was only successful at guessing a small part of the overall scheme before it was revealed.

As for the characters, I loved Laurel and how down-to-Earth, no-nonsense she is. She's had to be tough and smart to keep Morrison Station running and successful. I loved that about her! Her interactions with her employees who she considers family were intriguing and heartwarming. Call, for a newcomer, fit in splendidly with everyone. I quite enjoyed Call's easygoing manner and how he conducted the investigation into who stole the mine's payroll. He's seen a lot between the war and his time working for different stagecoach lines. It was fun watching him and Rooster interact and how he slowly became more confident in the work he was doing outside of the investigation and handling the horses.

The thing I wasn't sold on was the romance between Call and Laurel. Overall, the romance was okay. It worked for me by the end but I was pretty skeptical of their feelings for each other most of the book. There's just something about how their romance evolved that didn't sell me on it and I haven't been able to pinpoint why that is. But that's a small thing compared to how much I loved everything else about the story.

When I'm asked for western romance recs, I always recommend Jo Goodman. If you're looking for a quick western romance with a unique setting that has an awesome historical fiction vibe and an excellent mystery, then Stages of the Heart is the book for you. You won't regret picking it up!

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 / 5 Stars

Book #21- The Cobbles- Read a Historical Romance Not Set in London
 

Mini Reviews: Fantastic Hope and Where the Lost Wander

Fantastic Hope
Edited by Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey
Release: April 7, 2020
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A collection of sixteen sci-fi and fantasy stories edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Laurell K. Hamilton and author William McCaskey.

A child’s wish for her father comes true. The end of the world has never been so much fun. Conquering personal demons becomes all too real. It’s not always about winning; sometimes it’s about showing up for the fight. It’s about loving your life’s work, and jobs that make you question everything.

In this anthology, seventeen authors have woven together brand-new stories that speak to the darkness and despair that life brings while reminding us that good deeds, humor, love, sacrifice, dedication, and following our joy can ignite a light that burns so bright the darkness cannot last.

Laurell K. Hamilton and William McCaskey are joined by Kevin J. Anderson, Griffin Barber, Patricia Briggs, Larry Correia, Kacey Ezell, Monalisa Foster, Robert E. Hampson, John G. Hartness, Jonathan Maberry, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Jessica Schlenker, Sharon Shinn, M. C. Sumner, Patrick M. Tracy, and Michael Z. Williamson in this collection.

Review:
I quite enjoyed this anthology and its variety in the kinds of stories it contained. It was also an opportunity to read work from a lot of authors I've never read before. In fact, Laurell K. Hamilton, Patricia Briggs, and Jonathan Maberry were the only authors in this collection I've read before.

I'll be honest the whole reason I picked it up was because of the Patricia Briggs story, Asil and the Not-Date. It also ended up being my favorite story of the whole collection. I love reading about Asil and his not-dates! And just like the others, this one was so good and had a surprise twist at the end! I enjoy Asil's not-dates almost as much as he does.

My other favorites in this collection were Last Contact by M.C. Sumner, Not in This Lifetime by Sharon Shinn, Mr. Positive, the Eternal Optimist by Larry Correia, Bonds of Love and Duty by Monalisa Foster, and Working Conditions by Patrick M. Tracy. I loved all of these so much! They were all so different from each other!

The only story I didn't like was Fallen by L.E. Modesitt Jr. It was confusing and time jumpy and it didn't hold my attention at all. I was a little bit meh about the Anita Blake story but I'm not a fan of the series. The rest of the stories in the collection were fun and I enjoyed them a lot!

Overall, I'd recommend picking this anthology up based on the variety of the stories alone but there's also quite a bit of quality in this collection.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   

  4 / 5 Stars

Where the Lost Wander

Amy Harmon

Release: April 28, 2020

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In this epic and haunting love story set on the Oregon Trail, a family and their unlikely protector find their way through peril, uncertainty, and loss.
The Overland Trail, 1853: Naomi May never expected to be widowed at twenty. Eager to leave her grief behind, she sets off with her family for a life out West. On the trail, she forms an instant connection with John Lowry, a half-Pawnee man straddling two worlds and a stranger in both.

But life in a wagon train is fraught with hardship, fear, and death. Even as John and Naomi are drawn to each other, the trials of the journey and their disparate pasts work to keep them apart. John’s heritage gains them safe passage through hostile territory only to come between them as they seek to build a life together.

When a horrific tragedy strikes, decimating Naomi’s family and separating her from John, the promises they made are all they have left. Ripped apart, they can’t turn back, they can’t go on, and they can’t let go. Both will have to make terrible sacrifices to find each other, save each other, and eventually…make peace with who they are.

Review:

I was so excited to get this book for review! I love a good Oregon Trail historical fiction! Even better if it has romance! I hadn't read an Amy Harmon book before but I've heard nothing but excellent things about her work.

For full transparency, I put this book aside around the 54% mark. I don't often write reviews like this but it is very much a "It's not you. It's me." situation when it comes to this book and my reading experience with it was very much not the book's fault. I've loved what I read of this book. My problem is that I tried to read it while under a stay-at-home order for Covid-19 and I couldn't enjoy the reading experience like I would have under different conditions. 

The research that went into this book was phenomenal and I felt like I was there because of the quality and excellence of Harmon's writing. The pacing of this book was just too slow moving for me and the challenges the characters faced were just too traumatic, heavy, and heartbreaking for my mindset during a global pandemic.

I bought myself the ebook of this book and I'm planning on picking it up again when I can handle the sadness and trauma in the story. So far the story rates a solid 3.5 stars but I'm sure that I'll rate it higher once I finish the book.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley

   1/2

3.5 / 5 Stars