Book 68: Missing Persons by Shirlee McCoy

Lauren Owens has returned to Magnolia College to help out with an auction fundraiser and reconnect with her sister and college friends. However the time she chooses to come happens to coincide with a body being found underneath the sidewalk just a few weeks earlier on the Magnolia College Campus. She also happens to run into her high school sweetheart at the auction.

Seth Chartrand left Magnolia College looking for a more adventurous life and a more adventurous girlfriend than high school sweetheart Lauren Owens. Now he's returned to the small town with his son who he would do anything for, even bid on his old flame's services for a week.

The story has the undercurrent of the dead body found on the campus but doesn't advance it a whole lot. It was a good suspense, though I figured out what was going on about midway. It was still good. I don't think I ever connected with Seth or Lauren though. Which is unusual for me. She seemed a little cold and the final getting together a little too contrived. With that said it was still an enjoyable read and I will continue to read in this series to see where it leads. I was also disappointed that the first couple wasn't in the book very much - I really liked them and wanted to hear a little more about them. But the series is written by different authors so I realize that may be more difficult than when a series is written by one author.


Date Started: 18 April 2008
Date Finished: 19 April 2008
From: My Bookshelf (via paperbackswap)
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Christian
Category Line: Love Inspired Suspense
Miniseries: Reunion Revelations 2
Setting: Magnolia College, Georgia
Characters: Lauren Owens, Seth Chartrand
Pages: 247

Book 67: Positive I.D. by Kathleen Long

Will Connor gave up his family 17 years ago when he was assumed dead and he stayed that way to protect them from a crime family bent on revenge. However Will is about to be thrust back into their lives when his teenage daughter goes missing on her senior trip. Will is part of the group called "The Body Hunters" whose specialty is recovering "bodies" from kidnappings and the like. But Will has never had one that hit this close to home.

Maggie became a recluse after her husband died and she almost died in an automobile accident. She really doesn't want Jordan to go away but gives in finally. Then she finds out Jordan has been kidnapped and she steps outside her little world to travel and find out what happened to her daughter. The last person she expects to run into on Isle de Cielo is her dead husband Will.

This was a nice introduction to The Body Hunters and I'm looking forward to the rest of the books in this series. I enjoyed the suspense and the romance of husband and wife reaquainting again. The romance is secondary in this though but that didn't bother me. They were already married, but had been apart for 17 years, still I didn't find the instant attraction unbelievable. I really enjoyed this book from the characters to the romance and the suspense.


Date Started: 17 April 2008
Date Finished: 18 April 2008
From: My Bookshelf (via paperbackswap)
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Category Line: Harlequin Intrigue
Miniseries: The Body Hunters 1
Setting: Isle de Cielo
Characters: Will, Maggie and Jordan Connor
Pages: 211

Book 66: Baby on the Run by Kate Little

Carey Mooreland just wants to get to Canada with her baby girl to outrun the one man obsessed enough with her to track her across the country. However her plans are changed when she runs off the road outside of Greenbriar, ME. Thankfully police deputy Ben Martin comes along and helps her out. Soon she becomes part of Ben's family, helping at the inn and falling for Ben. But she needs to leave because first and foremost she will protect her daughter and she feels horrible lying to Ben all this time.

Ben has been through heartbreak and he's not eagerly letting any woman into his life at this time. However Carey Mooreland and her precious baby girl come along and start to change his mind. As he begins falling for her he realizes all is not what it seems with her, but he's willing to overlook it for the time being.

This was a good story, the character development really had me liking all the characters from Ben and Carey to Ben's mom and sister and his mom's boyfriend. The inn is a great setting and I found myself wanting to visit. The plot line really worked and was not contrived in the least and the ending was satisfactory to me.

This is part of a series, but I did not read the first one, and did not feel lost, I will however go back and read the first one and eagerly anticipate the third one.

Just a fun feel-good read that reminds you what love is all about.

Date Started: 16 April 2008
Date Finished: 17 April 2008
From: My bookshelf (via paperbackswap)
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Category Line: Silhouette Special Edition
Miniseries: Baby Daze 2
Setting: Greenbriar, ME
Characters: Carey Mooreland, Ben Martin
Pages: 211

Book 65: The Millionaire and the M.D. by Teresa Southwick

Gabe Thorne is steel reeling from the life that fate dealt him several years ago. He has escaped to Las Vegas to get away from the memories and start a new construction project to help his company break into the Las Vegas market. But then his pregnant teenage sister comes along and the memories coming flooding back. Then he meets his sister's OB who he is sure can't be old enough to be a doctor and his life changes.

Rebecca Hamilton is trying to get away from her past also. She was a victim and she sees trouble in Amy Thorne that she can't seem to break through. Not to mention that Amy's attractive older brother is also taking up her thoughts.

This was a great book that brought two people who thought their problems were insurrmountable together to find that fate can be kind and they can both have a second chance. I liked the themes in this book and enjoyed reading it. I also really liked the characters, you got to see their problems and see how they worked through them with help from Amy, each other and even Gabe and Amy's father. It was a fun book to read watching both Gabe and Rebecca grow and also watching their love grow too.



Date Started: 04-14-2008
Date Finished: 04-16-2008
From: My bookshelf (by way of paperbackswap)
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Genre: Romance
Category Line: Silhouette Special Edition
Miniseries: The Men of Mercy Medical, book 1
Setting: Las Vegas, NV, Mercy Medical Hospital
Characters: Gabe Thorne, Rebecca Hamilton, Amy Thorne
Pages: 211

Book 64: Once Upon a Pregnancy by Judy Duarte

Just over a month after Simone Gardner's one-night stand with sexy paramedic Mike O'Rourke, she finds herself staring at a positive pregnancy test. Due to her past she is sure she won't make a good mother and she doesn't think she makes a good girlfriend wife either so she keeps pushing persistent Mike away.

Mike has enjoyed being an eligible bachelor for awhile, but one glimpse of a loosened up Simone at a hospital function and one night with her has changed his mind. Now he's ready to settle down and start a family, but Simone keeps pushing him away.

This is a great story that felt really real to me for some reason. I really can't explain it, except that this was really well done and a very interesting book. I hardly put it down after starting it.

This book is part of a series, but I hadn't read the previous books and I didn't have any problems. I am going back and planning on reading the others because I find the hospital an interesting setting.

I highly recommend this gem for others to read!


Date Started: 04/13/2008
Date Finished: 04/14/2008
From: My bookshelf (paperbackswap)
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Genre: Contemporary romance
Category Line: Silhouette Special Edition
Setting: Walnut River
Characters: Mike O'Rourke, Simone Gardner
Pages: 214

Book 63: Last Seen Alive by Carlene Thompson

Chyna Greer returns to Black Willow because her mother has passed away. She hasn't spent much time in her home town since college and she dislikes coming back since the one summer when her best friend Zoey disappeared into the night to never be heard from again and also from the talk of her special talent, her ESP.

Shortly after returning she finds out that other girls have gone missing during the time she has been away. She also runs into her old high school crush, Scott Kendrick who is at home recovering from a plane crash.

Then another girl disappears and Chyna starts having more visions, that involve several people in town. As Chyna and Scott try to figure out all that is going on around them the mystery continues to build.

The suspense element of this book was great. I actually figured out who the murderer was, but it really was only a guess. The suspects abound and you are guessing who has done it. I also enjoyed the romance of two people who knew each other in the past come together in a time of trial. The last 200 pages had me not wanting to put the book down.

A good read for those who don't mind graphic romantic suspense.


Date Started: 2008-04-09
Date Finished: 2008-04-13
From: My bookshelf
Rating: 4.0/5.0
Genre: Romantic Suspense, Paranormal
Setting: Black Willow, WV
Characters: Chyna Greer, Scott Kendrick
Pages: 342

Book 62: Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

An amazing story told from the perspective of 5 different people who all center around Shay Bourne, a man convicted of killing a young girl and her policeman stepfather. Father Michael was on the jury that convicted Shay and 11 years later he becomes Shay's spritual advisor in prison. Lucius is one of Shay's I-tier cellmates who is in for murdering his lover. June is the mother of the child and wife of the man that Shay killed, she was pregnant with Claire when the murders occurred. And finally Maggie is the ACLU attorney that quickly attaches herself to Shay's case to highlight the wrongness of the death penalty.

Through all of these characters we see the life of Shay Bourne and how he touched them all. All of them have learning experiences and some have crisis of faith. This is a wonderful book that is not really trying to push any agenda, it just looks at the what-ifs of human life and human nature. We all have a crisis of faith sometime and faith really comes down to what we believe in and not something that we can touch. The book is very enjoyable and hard to put down. I can't say that I have read anything like it and it was a very refreshing read. Most books like this seem to push a political or religious agenda or try and shock you, but this did not, it is written straight from the heart of a woman who obviously knows a lot about human nature, and wants each of us to question the absolutes and decide for ourselves what we believe.


Date Started: 3 April 2008
Date Finished: 9 April 2008
From: Library
Rating: 4.5/5.0
Genre: Fiction, general
Setting: New Hampshire
Characters: June and Claire Nealon, Shay Bourne, Maggie, Father Michael, Lucius
Pages: 447


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Natasha @ Mawbooks