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Title: Silverleaf Rapids Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #0 (prequel to established series) Thanks to Jodi Thomas, RBMedia, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review. DNF 66%. I’ve been getting more and more bored since about 40%. Now I’m only half listening and just really want to get back to Laurie King’s Russell and Sherlock series. Time to call it. I read the entirety of the Ransom Canyon …
Book Review by Elise Cooper Christmas in Winter Valley by Jodi Thomas has an unusual format. Instead of having one hero and heroine there are multiple relationships. Each are connected with the theme involving the importance of family. The author noted, “Having many relationships, instead of just one, has become very much my style. I like to have an interconnection between the lives of those who live on a ranch as well as a sense of community. I wanted to …
I don’t review every book I read. Not nearly. As much as I wish otherwise, I simply don’t have time—or sometimes the brain energy—to write dozens upon dozens of reviews. Plus, sometimes it’s nice to just enjoy a book without having to analyze as I read. But I wanted to talk about some of the books I read recently, so I thought perhaps I could compile a series of brief overall opinions for them. A review roundup, if you will. …
Title: Mornings on Main Author: Jodi Thomas Series: n/a mostly about theme but the story and characters grew on me Not gonna lie, I approached this book with reluctance. Another quilting/knitting/sewing mainstream wannabe literary novel? That trend started over a decade ago and largely died off two or three years ago. Another story about a small town with a quaint little B&B and a family dealing with a heartbreaking illness that’s slowly sucking the life out of the matriarch/patriarch? Another …
Title: A Christmas Affair Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #6.5 Rushed but well-meaning This was cute, if you don’t mind some cheese and purple prose. It’s so strange; I don’t remember associating Thomas with such fanciful dialogue before this year. Maybe my taste or perception has changed recently. I just couldn’t imagine real people saying some of those lines, and that sense of absurdity distances me from the story. Which might sound like an ironic paradox considering it’s fiction, …
Title: Indigo Lake Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #6 Not entirely bad but hardly satisfying To my astonishment, the leftover sense of disappointment I had from the last installment in the Ransom Canyon series, Wild Horse Springs, tempted me to not only skip reviewing this one, but to skip reading it at all. But my curiosity, a small sense of duty, and years of loving Thomas’ work combined into a force I couldn’t deny, so I read it. My …
Title: Wild Horse Springs Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #5 Holding on… Dan Brigman is the sheriff of Crossroads. He’s been alone for a long time, though not always lonely, per se. He loves his daughter, who’s grown and moved away, trying to figure out life for herself. He loves his job, and it keeps him busy. But it isn’t until he meets Brandi Malone, a singer who goes from gig to gig in an attempt to run away …
Title: Sunrise Crossing Author: Jodi Thomas Series: Ransom Canyon #4 A good, solid addition to the Ransom Canyon series As far as I can tell, Jodi Thomas is one of the few authors making a go of the romances that tell the stories of not one couple at a time, but several couples living within the same town/county/area, and she does it well. The writing in Sunrise Crossing was excellent. The main pair: Yancy Grey, a character we met way …