Deceived: a small town romance with intrigue and family saga series

Deceived is the first book in the Delta Family series by Cami Checketts. The Delta family, led by the patriarch Papa, has a secret deep into the mountains. Colton Delta takes the protection of the family secret very seriously. A secret that is a matter of national security. Bailey Ashworth is an investigative journalist who got a drunken tip about a military secret hidden in the Colorado mountains. She comes to the small town of Summit Valley and runs into the handsome Dr Colton Delta. As Colton and Bailey spend time together, they are both suspicious of each other and yet find themselves attracted to each other. When he falls in love with Bailey, can he protect her and the secret? Will the secret tear them apart? 

Deceived is a cute, sweet, intriguing and great start to a family saga story. The family secret is not revealed in this story and I have a feeling it will drag throughout the series. However, I am interested in the other Delta love stories that I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I enjoyed the banter and flirting between Colton and Bailey. There were a few sweet moments between them that produced a few sighs and smiles. The Delta family is large and I enjoyed the introduction of each character. I love the faith of the characters. It was real and relatable. If you enjoy small town romance, I recommend Deceived. 

Deceived is available in paperback and eBook. 

Winnifred Cottage: an unexpected inheritance and a family secret

Winnifred Cottage by Jennie Alexander is a story of fresh starts and old family secrets. Everything seems to be crashing down for Abigail “Abbie” Morgan. Her home burns down and she breaks up with her boyfriend. Her only option seems to move to the Winnifred Cottage in the Lake District. A surprise inheritance from her late grandmother, the cottage offers her a new start. Once she arrives, she realizes that the cottage needs a lot more work than she realized. After meeting her great aunts and other villagers, Abbie also realizes that the cottage holds a family secret and a glimpse into her grandmother she never knew. Can this move be a dream come true or her worst nightmare? 

Winnifred Cottage is a lighter reading with a happy ending. It opens with Abbie in the hospital after a fall and she decides to move to the cottage. Feeling the need to escape and clear her head, the cottage offers the best option. Once there, she sees it’s not the dream she imagined. I always laugh at characters, and people in real life, who act shocked when they learn that their grandparents, or even their parents, had a past. Of course, they did. They didn’t come into this world as your parents. They were young adults who made life changing decisions. Overall, I enjoyed Winnifred Cottage. If you enjoy a slower paced story with family secrets, I recommend Winnifred Cottage. 

Winnifred Cottage is available in paperback and eBook

House on the Harbor: four sisters and one family secret

House on the Harbor by Elizabeth Bromke is the first book in the Birch Harbor series. Four sisters, dealing with the death of their mother, discover a family secret that will shock them. Kate Hannigan is in charge of her late mother’s estate. She plans to divide everything equally with her sisters. However, she doesn’t realize that her mother changed her will just before her death. During the reading of the will, she discovers one sister has been left off the will. The reason why means a family secret is forced to be revealed. Meanwhile, her sisters are dealing with their issues. Amelia is a struggling off-Broadway actress who seems to go from man to man. Megan is dealing with her pending divorce and the possibility of dating again. And Clara, the baby of the family, is about to question everything she knows to be true. 

I was intrigued by the book synopsis and looked forward to reading a story about four sisters. The story was good. The will excludes one sister, why? But as the story progresses, the secret is about to be revealed and then something stops it. Time after time after time. The secret is…oh what there’s a knock on the door or the phone rings, you get the picture. Once the secret is finally revealed, it is a total let down. And why their mother left this one sister out of the will is absolutely ridiculous. Meant to be a story with lots of twists and turn, eventually I just said enough already! By the end, I didn’t care for the characters, their lives or their relationships. Overall, I do not recommend House on the Harbor and I will not be continuing the series.  

House on the Harbor is available in paperback, eBook and audiobook

Secret Seduction: its no secret that this is a bad romance story

Secret Seduction by Jill Sanders is the first book in the Secret series. It is the story of Katie Derby who confesses her secret love for her long-time friend, Jason Keaton, and then learns a disturbing truth from her mother that undoes everything she knew about herself and her family. Unable to deal with the media circus surrounding the revelation, Katie leaves everything behind and runs to backpack across Europe. Fast forward a year later, Katie is almost kidnapped by two men in Greece until she is rescued by, none of other than, Jason, who has been sent to Europe to find her and bring her home. The two are suddenly in a race for their lives as they try to stay one step ahead of the men who want to kidnap Katie. Why do they want Katie? Will they discover who is behind this kidnapping plot? Will they make it to safety?

Secret Seduction is a romance novel with so many problems. First, it was hard to like Katie. She is 26 years old and acts like a child and pouts when she doesn’t get her way. Throughout most of the book, she adamantly refuses to see her mother, understandable given the devasting news her mother dropped on her over the phone. However, when her mother and Katie are finally are face to face, the scene was very anticlimactic. A short argument, one statement made and then suddenly all is forgiven and well between them? Second, Jason is nice, likable but has skills that the author gives no explanation for. Other than explaining that Jason studied judo, explains his fighting skills, no other his ability to track Katie through Europe when she was supposedly off the grid. Did I miss something? Lastly, while the sex scenes were steamy, there was one scene that was very uncomfortable and unrealistic. Katie reveals in an internal monologue that she is inexperience sexually and still a virgin and then, a few pages later, can perform a sex act with skilled expertise! Come on! I do not recommend Secret Seduction.

Secret Seduction

is available in paperback, eBook, and audiobook