A Thousand Words: a grumpy sunshine, brother's best friend Christian romance

A Thousand Words is a prequel novel to the Unfailing Love series by Mandi Blake. Tyler is in the final year of his residency and while he is a good doctor, he needs to improve in one area: his bedside manner. He is urged to go on a blind date to have some fun in his all work mentality. He agrees only to practice his communication skills. When he arrives at the restaurant, he is shocked to see who is waiting for him. Sissy is always ready for an adventure, especially for a blind date with a handsome doctor. When her date turns out to be her brother’s best friend, Tyler, she is excited. However, Tyler is not keen on the idea. He reluctantly begins to spend time with Sissy and he feels his loyalty being torn between his friend and the woman he is falling for. Can she convince him to take a chance for once?

I love Mandi Blake’s stories and I looked forward to this quick prequel. While I was a bit confused at first about who was who, I quickly fell into Sissy and Tyler’s story. I loved Sissy’s character as someone who likes to seize the day. She’s young in college and loves life. Tyler is a bit older and takes his medical studies seriously. I understand Tyler’s hesitation about dating his best friend’s sister. The two together were great as a grumpy sunshine romance. They compliment each other as Tyler needs to lighten up a bit and Sissy needs a little grounding and they do that for each other. My heart broke with Sissy’s brother’s story as someone who has hit rock bottom. I look forward to reading his story as well as the rest of the series. Overall, I enjoyed the story. If you love brother’s best friend romance, I recommend A Thousand Words. 

A Thousand Words is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Remembering the Cowboy: a clean, Christian second chance romance

Remembering the Cowboy is the first book in the Blackwater Ranch series by Mandi Blake. Camille Vanderbilt is heading home to Blackwater, Wyoming. She is determined to find her old best friend, Noah Harding, who suddenly ghosted her after high school and has been able to avoid her since then, despite their small town. Unfortunately, on the road there, she gets into an accident and wakes up with memory loss. Noah lives a simple life as a firefighter and working on his family ranch until he arrives at the scene of an accident and realizes that Camille is the accident victim. When Camille runs into Noah in town, she knows he’s someone important to her but she doesn’t know why. As they spend time together, they find the old flame is still there and Noah is determined to do it right this time. 

Mandi Blake is a great author for clean, Christian romance with sweet moments and drama. From the opening chapter to the closing page, I could not put it down. I loved Camille and Noah throughout the story. I loved Camille’s determination to find her feet on her own and deal with her memory issues without using others’ help as a crutch. Noah is a great man who loves completely and is loyal to his family and their livelihood even at the cost of his own heart. Their moments together were sweet and filled with love and tenderness. I loved the secondary characters, especially Camille’s cousin, Jenny, who didn’t have much page time but was influential in the story. I look forward to reading the future stories in this series. If you enjoy clean, Christian romances with cowboys and a small town, you will enjoy Remembering the Cowboy. 

Remembering the Cowboy is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook