Holding the Fort, by Regina Jennings {Book Review}

A dance hall singer from Wichita loses her job, travels to the fort at which her brother is stationed, and ends up as the governess for the children of her brother's commanding officer. What could possibly go wrong?

Regina Jennings does it again with this hilarious and enjoyable story titled Holding the Fort.

The characters of Louisa Bell and Major Daniel Adams were well-thought out and their story did not take the expected twists and turns. From the surprising way Daniel and Louisa first met, and how it was not discussed until later in the book, to the way Daniel conceded to another man who he believed Louisa had fallen for (this part was so, so funny---especially when Daniel gives this trooper his blessing).

However, one of my favorite parts of the story had to do with a secondary character: Lieutenant Jack Hennessey. I nearly died when reading Jack's reaction to Louisa's story about an incident she witnessed before coming to the fort. And again, when Louisa brings to attention a love letter she presumes had been written by a desperate trooper to the major's eldest daughter, Caroline. While Daniel is Jack's superior, there is also a friendship there which provides a level of comedy to the situation.

Louisa and Daniel's story was a fantastic read. There isn't a part of the book that I did not love.

My rating: 5 stars

I only recently discovered Regina Jennings back in April, when I read A Most Inconvenient Marriage. I was immediately hooked and quickly finished that series and started on her Ladies of Caldwell County series, which I finished in August. You can only imagine how difficult my wait was for this newest book to come out, but it was well worth it! I eagerly await the books to come. Fortunately, I won't have to wait long as the novella collection Hearts Entwined will be released in January. It includes a novella titled "Bound and Determined", a story about Louisa Bell's brother, Bradley Willis. I also hope to read more about Jack Hennessey in the upcoming novels in the Fort Reno series. Will he be next? Or will Caroline? Will we later fast-forward a decade and see a grown up Daisy? I can't wait!

Check out the upcoming Hearts Entwined collection, featuring novellas by Regina Jennings and other brilliant authors!

For the Record, by Regina Jennings {Book Review}

For the Record is the third and final book in the Ozark Mountain Romance series by Regina Jennings.

Betsy Huckabee first appeared in A Most Inconvenient Marriage as a child, with her older brother Josiah Huckabee. Through the coarse of the series, spanning 20 years, she's grown up and Betsy Huckabee is now a young lady, living with her uncle, aunt, and cousins in Pine Gap, Missouri. She helps around the household and helps her uncle, Fred Murphy, with his small-town newspaper. Betsy has dreams of becoming a journalist, is very independent, and has no desire to get married. That changes when deputy from Texas moves to Pine Gap.

Deputy Joel Puckett is escaping an unfortunate circumstance in Texas where he served as a deputy and was maliciously set up by a woman who wanted him to be her husband. Not willing to throw his life away and marry someone he did not love (and that he had done nothing with), he left when the opportunity arose for a deputy position in Missouri.

Post-war vigilantes, the Bald Knobbers

The small town of Pine Gap is nestled in the Ozarks and has its fair share of crime, including horse stealing and even murders. Sheriff Taney of Pine Gap is not able to keep the people safe, so the state of Missouri has brought in reinforcements in the form of Deputy Puckett. Upon his arrival, he is introduced to a gang of townsfolk that have taken the law into their own hands, riding on horseback with strange bags with horns over their heads, and calling themselves the Bald Knobbers. I thought the Bald Knobbers were a figment of the authors imagination until I looked it up! They are not what I had pictured. But they were real and they did what they could to keep their farms and towns safe.

Throughout the story, Betsy is keeping a secret from everyone that she is writing a romance column for a distant newspaper. The subject of her column is inspired by Deputy Puckett, who is not always so gentlemanly, so Betsy has to make things up as she goes along. Little does she realize, her column is a huge hit and has been picked up by newspapers around the country, including the town that Deputy Puckett had left behind. Eventually, her stories are discovered and becomes a source of embarrassment for Joel.        

Betsy's independence and stubbornness add so much to the story and makes her a fun character to follow. Regina Jennings has done an excellent job throughout the series in drawing the reader in to the story. Every story has a new mystery, and the characters can be rather colorful. I loved revisiting the same townsfolk with each book. Regina Jennings has a gift in creating witty characters and keeping the romance to an appropriate level. Betsy has been a favorite character from the beginning of the series and I was happy to see her happily-ever-after unfold.

Check out the entire Ozark Mountain Romance series:

   

A Match Made in Texas, A Novella Collection {Book Review}

In the small town of Dry Gulch, Texas, a good-hearted busybody just can't keep herself from surreptitiously trying to match up women in dire straits with men of good character she hopes can help them. How is she to know she's also giving each couple a little nudge toward love?

When I borrowed this book from the library, it was for the purpose of finishing Karen Witemeyer's Archer Brother series. I had never read a novella before, and usually ignored them when I saw that a book series had a #2.5 or anything with a #.5 in it. I had assumed it wasn't too important to read the "in between" books. Now I know not to ignore them! I have a new love for novellas. It's a full story that one can finish in a day. After I read the first novella, A Cowboy Unmatched (Archer Brother's #3), I abandoned the rest of the book, intending to return it to the library on my next visit. I picked it up again a week later and realized that all four novellas worked together to tell an entirely new story. A story of an anonymous matchmaker.



A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer
Neill isn't sure who hired him to repair Clara's roof--he only knows Clara desperately needs his help. Can he convince this stubborn widow to let down her guard and take another chance on love?

This poor woman. Heavily pregnant, widowed, and her house is falling apart. But Clara Danvers doesn't let this get her down. She is tough and independent. Her father-in-law is a wealthy ranch owner, whose son, Clara's late husband, was heir to the ranch. Now Mr. Danvers wants Clara's child, to raise as his own and one day inherit the ranch. Because of Clara's Comanche blood, he wants nothing to do with her.

Neill Archer is guided by an anonymous tip to Clara Danvers' shack. In need of some money to start his own ranch, he patches her roof and works on various jobs around her home. He learns the danger she is in and vows to protect her. Then one night, she goes into labor...

I loved revisiting the characters from the rest of the Archer Brother's series, and was pleased with the man that youngest brother Neill became.



An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings
Hoping to earn an honest wage on his way to the land rush, Clayton ends up on Grace's doorstep, lured by a classified ad. He may have signed on for more than he expected though--and he may have found the one woman who can keep him from moving on. 

Grace O'Malley is a school teacher, born in Ireland and brought to America with her parents to join her odler brother. Her parents die on the voyage over and she is delivered to her big brother. She is seen as more of a burden and takes it upon herself to educate herself and make her own way in the world. Years later, she gets a teaching position in Dry Gulch, but soon begins to lose her vision to the point of having to leave teaching behind. She is given a small home to live in (the shack that Clara Danvers left behind when she left with Neill Archer) and brought food. Clayton Weber intends on winning land but his horse dies just as he enters into Dry Gulch. He is anonymously offered a job fixing up a shack and barn for a former teacher in the town. Believing she's an old maid, he goes out there only to discover that the former teacher is a young and beautiful woman.

It was interesting to read a story in which both main characters have a physical flaw: Grace is nearly blind and Clayton has a large scar on the side of his face. He assumes that she cannot see it, so he lets his guard down around her. Little does he know, she does see it, but doesn't care. While I knew how to story was going to end, I still liked it.



No Match for Love by Carol Cox
Andrew can't fathom how refined Lucy ended up as the caretaker to his dotty aunt, and somehow her arrival has prompted even more bizarre occurrences around the ranch. When they join forces to unearth the truth, will the attraction between Andrew and Lucy develop into more?

Lucy Benson finds herself nearly penniless after her father's death. An anonymous tip leads her to leave Dry Gulch and head to North Fork, Texas to help care for a rancher's elderly and widowed aunt.

While Andrew has the best of intentions, his Aunt Martha is not in need of someone to care for her. She is strong and spunky. She takes care of Lucy and teaches Lucy how to take care of herself (Lucy is so helpless that she even burns tea). The characters soon learn that Aunt Martha is not crazy, as originally thought, but being targeted. This book had a bit of mystery in it that I enjoyed, even if it did have the silly aspect of a cow jumping over a moon.



Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy
When the tables are turned and a tenderhearted meddler becomes the beneficiary of a matchmaking scheme, her world is turned upside down. As her entire life changes, will she finally be able to tell the banker's son how much she cares for him?

This is the final story of the matchmaker herself! Marcus Whitfield, the bankers son, has been in love with beautiful Hannah ever since their school days. He is just too shy to tell her so. Hannah is the local school teacher who has found herself kicked out of her childhood home and living in a room over the diner. One afternoon, everything changes for Hannah and Marcus.

This story had me laughing. I couldn't believe what was happening! It was my first Mary Connealy book, but certainly not my last. I loved the story of Hannah, and also loved how it tied the other books together and we finally knew who the matchmaker was.


Overall, I really enjoyed this charming little collection of novellas!