History, Mystery, and Romance Your Way into May

History: Together Forever

Jody Hedlund, Bethany House Publishers, 352 pages, May 1, 2018

The second book in Judy Hedlund’s Orphan Train series features Marianne, the middle Neumann sister. Marianne, impetuous and big-hearted, struggles to find her way in life outside of her big sister Elise’s capable shadow. Elise, featured in With You Always, splits her time between Quincy, her husband’s town, and New York City. Marianne, newly employed (with the help of her influential brother-in-law) as a placing-out agent with the Orphan’s Aid Society embarks on her first journey to resettle 31 orphans in Illinois.

She has vowed to find their missing youngest sister, Sophie, as well as the two small children she and her sisters had cared for during one of the darkest epochs of their young lives—when they found themselves orphaned and abandoned in New York City’s heartless streets. Marianne hopes she’ll find a record of what happened to Sophie and the other children—after all, she can’t forgive herself until she’s solved the mystery of their disappearance. She’s also hoping to find Reinhold Weiss, the object of her affection.

Andrew Brady, fun-loving, entertaining, and hiding a tragic secret, looks forward to his placing-out trip for the Orphan’s Aid Society—especially when he discovers that his companion is the young and very beautiful Marianne Neumann. He’s not looking for romance, but a mild flirtation will help to pass the time.

The trip turns out nothing like either one of them expected. Andrew finds himself drawn to Marianne’s generous heart and forgiving nature. Marianne discovers that maybe her feelings for Reinhold had more to do with infatuation than a real relationship.

Most of all, they discover that before they can find true love with another person, they need to make peace with their past mistakes and learn to love themselves.

Mystery: Lone Witness

Rachel Dylan, Bethany House Publishers, 320 pages, May 1, 2018

Fulton County prosecutor Sophie Dawson works for the love of the job. She believes in justice for the little man—especially when the perpetrators are corporations that betray the trust of their investors. Her new position in the White Collar Crime Unit in Atlanta, GA gives her the perfect place to follow her passion.

On her way home from work one night, she becomes the lone witness to a double homicide at a convenience store. When she discovers that the perpetrator she identifies in a police lineup is the younger brother of a notorious gang leader, a niggle of worry burrows its way into her mind.

Her sometimes overprotective dad goes behind her back and hires Cooper King, former police officer and current PI, to keep an eye on her and step in if it looks as if someone might want to harm Sophie.

Sophie thinks no one would harm her—after all, with a high-profile case, the defendant wouldn’t want to bring negative attention to himself. But the danger escalates from threatening letters to a personal attack.

Will she make it to the trail in one piece? And can Cooper protect her and help her figure out who wants to kill her before they succeed?

Romance: Honeysuckle Dreams

Rachel Hunter, Thomas Nelson, 320 pages, May 1, 2018

Hope Daniels and Brady Collins have known each other forever—and they’ve shared an easy friendship for forever, too. Denise Hunter takes us back to Copper Creek in Honeysuckle Dreams, the setting of two previous books (Sweetbriar Cottage and Blue Ridge Sunrise). This story features Brady, newly wed, newly divorced, and now the sole caretaker for his infant son, Sammy. The community helps him out with childcare so he can keep his supercar repair business running.

Faith, a radio DJ between gigs, discovers she loves everything about taking care of Sammy. After tragically losing her high school sweetheart, Faith doesn’t think she’ll ever have a shot at true love again.

When Sammy’s grandparents sue for sole custody, Brady vows to do whatever it takes to keep his son with him. Including marriage to Hope.

When two hurting people make a commitment to to each other, unexpected things happen.

If you like contemporary inspirational romance, you’ll like this book. Hunter creates relatable characters full of flaws and foibles that make their actions authentic.

All book were provided to me by the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion on the NetGalley website. I only review books on my website that I really like.