What I love about both of Lauren K. Denton's novels is how she can utterly transport me to the Gulf Coast in just a few pages.  

Hurricane Season tells the story of sisters Jenna and Betsy, along with Betsy's husband Ty.  Betsy was always the sensible older sister until she married Ty, a dairy farmer.  Jenna always took the past of most resistance to forge her own path.  Now a single mother with two young daughters, Jenna is working in a Nashville coffee shop, having given up on her dreams of pursuing a photography career.  Betsy thought her life with Ty was full to the brim but after failing to become pregnant and start a family, Betsy begins to long for something more.  Betsy and Jenna have grown apart over the years, but Jenna has just been given the opportunity of a lifetime to attend a special artist retreat for two weeks and concentrate on her photography career.  Jenna calls the one person she knows she can depend on and of course, Betsy can't deny her, when Jenna asks if Betsy can babysit the girls for two weeks.  Will this time with these young children that Betsy herself wants so badly help mend her broken heart or simply shatter it to pieces?  Will Jenna return for her daughters or find the success she has longed for and leave the girls to live with Betsy?  

I thought the author was able to authentically voice each character, including Betsy's husband Ty.  You could certainly feel each person's struggles and relate to their setbacks and victories.  The descriptions both of the retreat in Florida as well as the Alabama dairy farm and beaches were wonderful.  There were a few times that the plot could have moved more quickly for me, but perhaps that was simply because I was eager to move the characters forward on their path.  

A four star read for me and I will definitely look forward to more novels by Denton.  I received this book courtesy of Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

When I start reading a Steve Berry book, I can hardly contain my excitement.  I know it will be a page turner and I have to resist the urge to devour it in one sitting.  His newest novel The Bishop's Pawn was once again another stellar installment in the Cotton Malone series and it took all my restraint not to read it in one day.  

The Bishop's Pawn takes a look at the feud between J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King, Jr., and what influence that might have had on King's assassination in Memphis on April 4, 1968.  Cotton Malone is a young Navy lawyer and his commanding officer feels he might be somewhat of a loose cannon.  Then Stephanie Nelle enlists Cotton's services for the Justice Department on a mission involving a rare coin and it isn't long before Cotton realizes this assignment isn't exactly what he bargained for.  In addition to the coin, Cotton finds a secret stash of files with information on Martin Luther King's assassination.  Both the FBI, the Justice Department and other individuals will stop at nothing to secure what Cotton has unearthed while the legacy of the civil rights movement could hang in the balance.  

As I have said several times on this blog, Cotton Malone is one of the best literary characters of all time.  The Bishop's Pawn offers all of the historical intrigue along with the heart-racing adventures that I have come to expect from a Cotton Malone novel.  I did particularly enjoy that it offered a look back into how Cotton became involved with the Magellan Billet and I also appreciated how the narrative was composed.  I heard Steve Berry say in an interview that his novels are 90% historical fact and I believe that is one of the reasons I'm so drawn into his stories.  I always come away in awe that I never knew this particular pocket of historical information existed or took place.  

As always, I cannot more strongly recommend Steve Berry's books.  They never disappoint and you always come away wanting to read more.  Our book club frequently selects his novels since they always offer up some good discussion points and we enjoy reading about Cotton's latest quests.  

I received this book courtesy of Minotaur Books St. Martin's Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  

The Lost Castle will sweep you up and transport you to the Loire Valley in France while you journey to the French Revolution, World War II and present day.  This novel tells the stories of three generations of women; first, a young woman who is to meet her fiancé for the first time during an elaborate engagement ball but the French Revolution has other plans; then a woman on the run during World War II finds herself receiving aid from an unlikely group of French resisters; and then in present day Ellie Carver is trying to learn more about her grandmother's secret past and finds herself in the Loire Valley in France searching for answers among castle ruins.  

Each story is compelling and offers a glimpse into important times during history.  I truly became invested in each character's plot line and thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  The descriptions of the castle and also the detail on the wine country are so vivid.  I believe The Lost Castle is to be a three part series, so I am looking forward to further installments.  Having not read a book by Kristy Cambron before, I was impressed with her writing style and character development.  I also appreciated the section at the end of the book detailing some of the historical facts and research behind the story.  

I received The Lost Castle courtesy of Thomas Nelson through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.