Tag Archives: Whiskey Creek series

Book Review – Discovering You

01 Wednesday Jun 2016

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cover84031-mediumDiscovering You

A Whiskey Creek Novel

by Brenda Novak

Can she ever trust another “bad boy”?

India Sommers once had the perfect family—until an ex-boyfriend broke in and shot her husband. Not only did that cost her the man she loved, a respected heart surgeon and the father of her child, but she also feels responsible. Charlie died because of the people she hung out with before she had the strength to change her life.

Just after moving to Whiskey Creek with her little girl, Cassia, to start over, she’s learned that her ex-boyfriend’s trial ended in a hung jury. He’s getting out of jail; he could try to find her again. And that’s not all that scares her. She’s extremely attracted to her next-door neighbor, but Rod Amos is the handsome “bad boy” type that’s given her so much trouble in the past. If she got involved with him, her in-laws would sue for custody of Cassia.

India has to keep her distance from Rod—but the more she gets to know him, the more difficult that becomes.

I’m going to state up front that I love this series.  Unfortunately I don’t remember enough about the remaining (single) Amos brothers to have a preconceived impression of Rod.  But here he’s just about perfect – maybe a little too perfect 🙂  We know that the Amos family hasn’t had the easiest time but they’ve stuck together and created a good life for themselves.  They’re a little rough but they are truly good men.  Rod’s honest, hard-working and not willing to settle for anything less than honest with India.

I don’t know that anyone can really imagine what India has gone through, and is still going thru, but it definitely complicates things for her.  And meeting someone as sexy and good as Rod seems to be only adds to that.  She knows that she shouldn’t get involved but he’s awfully hard to resist.

I do think that the whole thing happens a little fast.  Not only the time from their meeting to them getting together but how long it has been since India’s husband died.  I know it’s the only way it works with the timeline of her troubles with her ex, but it just seems a little soon.  I know their somewhat concerned with that as well butt over all as an issue I think it is a minor one.

The rest of the story – from the deepening of their relationship to the troubles with her ex – is addictive and so well written that I had trouble putting it down.  We also get a little look at the next story in the series and I have to say I’m a little concerned where it is going but I trust Novak to handle it with care, just like all of the others 🙂

Book Review – A Winter Wedding

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

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cover71271-mediumA Winter Wedding

Whiskey Creek series

by Brenda Novak

One Christmas can change your life…

Kyle Houseman believes he’ll never find anyone he could love as much as Olivia Arnold, who’s now married to his stepbrother. Not only did he lose her, he’s been through one divorce and has no desire to go through another. He’s determined to be extra careful about the next woman he gets involved with—which is why he fights his attraction to the beautiful stranger who rents his farmhouse for the Christmas holiday.

Lourdes Bennett is a country music artist. She’s only planning to stay in Whiskey Creek long enough to write the songs for her next album—the album that’s going to put her back on top. Her dreams don’t include settling in a town even smaller than the one she escaped. But as she comes to know Kyle, she begins to wonder if she’d be making a terrible mistake to leave him behind…

I have been looking for Kyle to finally get his happy ending.  When we met him in When We Touch I didn’t like him much, although I guess we weren’t really supposed to.  At that point, he’d slept with that heroine’s sister and gotten her pregnant, which ruined not only his relationship with the heroine but cemented a big rift between the sisters.  So he wasn’t exactly the good guy in that story 🙂  But as we got to know this group of friends over the next few books, we also got a better understanding of Kyle and how much that mistake impacted his life.  Now it is finally his chance for a HEA.

I love how fluid this story is – nothing about it is big or dramatic or that surprising.  He meets Lourdes and the two spend time together, realize they are attracted to one another but that their lives don’t exactly mesh.  We get to know them as they get to know each other and we’re right there with them as they fall in love.  It’s sweet and true to life (as much as it can be with a country music star 🙂 ).  We do get some trouble with Kyle’s ex, which spices things up but also helps to wrap up that relationship and leave him clear for a future with someone else.

Kyle and Lourdes just have to figure out if their’s is that future and if so how to make it work for both of them.

 

(Buy on Amazon)

Book Review – This Heart of Mine

01 Wednesday Apr 2015

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cover58810-mediumFirst love. Second chance?

As the daughter of a hoarder, Phoenix Fuller had a tough childhood. So when the handsome, popular Riley Stinson became her boyfriend in high school, she finally felt as though she had something to be proud of. Phoenix was desperate not to lose him—especially once she found out she was pregnant. Yes, she might have acted a bit obsessive when he broke up with her. But she did not run down the girl he started dating next.

Unfortunately, there was no way to prove her innocence. Now, after serving her time in prison, Phoenix has been released. All she wants to do is return to Whiskey Creek and get to know her son. But Jacob’s father isn’t exactly welcoming.

Riley doesn’t trust Phoenix, doesn’t want her in Jacob’s life. He is, however, ready to find someone to love. And he wants a good mother for his son. He has no idea that he’s about to find both!

I have not been afraid to share how much I love Novak’s Whisky Creek series – When Lightning Strikes, When Snow Falls, When Summer Comes, Home to Whiskey Creek, Take Me Home for Christmas, and Come Home to Me.  And This Heart of Mine is no different. Every single book I’m drawn to her characters, connecting with them emotionally and taking them in like old friends. And the plots are absolute page-turners – I find myself glued to my e-reader and tuning out the rest of the world for hours on end.

Understandably, Phoenix is afraid of getting on Riley’s bad side. He controls access to her son and years ago he crushed her heart. Coming out of prison, she’s strong but hesitant to do anything that would impact her chances to finally be a mother to Jake. I’ve got to think that being in jail, and all of the things that happened to her, would have made her a harder person, but she’s absolutely amazing.

And that is what causes Riley to be conflicted – I will say that I’m a little surprised at how quickly Novak had Riley change his mind about Phoenix. He’s spent almost two decades thinking that she was an awful person, who killed another girl. I think I would have liked just a little more conflict on his side but I do like that he was willing to look beyond her history to the person beneath. He’s a good man, a good father, and a good friend. Hard-working, intelligent and caring, he’s great hero material.

Unlike most of the stories, we spend most of the  time focusing on the Stinson group, but we do get a little bit of the rest of the friends and quite a decent amount of Kyle. The closeness of this group has been one of my favorite things about this series and although I missed the others a little, I did love the extra bit of Kyle. I can’t wait to see what Novak has in store for him – I really hope he finally gets his girl in the next story!

I think the mark of a fantastic writer is making readers feel deeply for the characters – and I absolutely ached for Phoenix. She lost so many years, not only in jail but in getting to know Jake. This Heart of Mine is definitely emotion-packed and my own heart broke a time or two. Full of tears and laughter, friends and family, the little town of Whiskey Creek provides a fantastic read every single time.

Book Review – Come Home to Me

26 Saturday Apr 2014

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cover41482-mediumHome is where her heart is

When Presley Christensen returns to Whiskey Creek with her little boy after two years away, she has completely changed her life. She’s made peace with her past and overcome the negative behavior that resulted from her difficult childhood. Now she’s back in the small town that was the closest thing to “home” she ever knew—the town where she can be with the sister who’s her only family.

There’s just one catch. Aaron Amos still lives in Whiskey Creek, at least until he moves to Reno to open a branch of the Amos brothers’ auto body shop. And no matter how hard she’s tried, Presley hasn’t been able to get over him. Seeing him again makes the longing so much worse. But she hopes she can get through the next few months, because she can’t fall back into his arms…or his bed. She’s come too far to backslide now. And there’s a secret she’s been guarding—a secret she’ll do anything to protect.

I’m going to say this and it breaks my heart, but I finally found a Whiskey Creek novel that I didn’t like more than the ones that came before it.  I love the idea of this book – that these two could turn their lives around and get their acts together.  And I totally understand why Presley didn’t tell Aaron that he was the father of her son.  And I even understand why Aaron is so confused by the way that Presley is treating him.  And in theory it all should make a really intriguing story … I just didn’t feel it this time.  Maybe I just need to go back and read Dylan and Cheyenne’s story, When Snow Falls, so that I can see how Presley and Aaron’s relationship was then to get a better feel for the way thing play out here.

Unfortunately we spent more time seeing Presley try to push Aaron away that they don’t actually spend quality time together to develop a good, solid relationship.  With just a couple of chapters to go she finally gives them a chance to date as a real couple but that time isn’t described because there are so few pages left.  I wish we’d had a chance to see them have a grown up relationship, I wanted to see Aaron actually develop feelings for Presley instead of being jealous or territorial.  I love the idea of his character so much, I wanted him to have a fantastic romance.

And I’m not sure where this plotline is going, but the side story with Cheyenne is so weird.  I cannot see this ending well for anyone and I’m not sure I understand why it is necessary.  I don’t want to spoil it for anyone that is going to read the story, but if you have to know go check out some of the Goodreads reviews because you’ll find out all about it in 2 seconds.  I’ll reserve judgment until I see what Novak has planned but I really was stunned when it came up.

I will give Novak credit – she is an amazing writer.  I may not have cared for this one but it is very smooth and has good flow.  I’ll definitely be looking for the next one because I know the series itself is fantastic.  And maybe that is the problem, I’m comparing a good story to the great ones that came before it.