REVIEWS BY SANDY HUSEBY
Say what you will about romance novels, but this much-maligned genre is nothing if not, well, enduring. And what better time to focus on the subject of love and marriage than Valentine's Day? Though the settings and characters of romance may change with the times, finding that special someone remains a central theme, as these new books demonstrate.
Family values
What makes a mother? And how do families work through challenges that have the power to rip them apart forever? In Judith Michael's new novel, motherhood comes by proxy for Sara Elliott when she takes over raising her three younger siblings after their father disappears and their mother has a stroke. Then Mack, their ne'er-do-well brother, returns to challenge her authority. Sara is forced to juggle her own priorities—between the life she strives to attain for herself and the responsibilities for her young family that weigh on her every choice. Meanwhile, another man, Reuben, beckons with promises for a future of their own. Suspenseful and heartfelt,
The Real Mother is the assured return of husband and wife Michael Fain and Judith Barnard, one of the most beloved writing teams in women's fiction.
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Conspiracy theory
High stakes geopolitics, presidential contenders and the bearers of a secret as ancient as the Mayans drive the stakes in
Rachel Lee's Wildcard. FBI agent Tom Lawton's rebellion against authority keeps him from the vanguard of investigators who are looking into the shooting of leading presidential candidate Grant Lawrence. But that extra edge gives Tom an intuitive advantage that could make him a target. When conspiracies are whispered and trails followed, trails that lead to the highest reaches of government power, trust is not easily shared. Agent Renate Bachle's many secrets swirl around her like mists, yet Tom must decide whether she may be the only one he can confide in . . . and risk his life with. Wildcard is a sublime suspense novel that will leave you gasping for breath as you chase through each fast-turning page.
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Getting granny's goodies
Inherit a fortune and you can go anywhere you please. Ally Jarrett enjoys photographing animals in Alaska. When the wildest animal she encounters turns out to be Mitchell Caruthers, the quiet man her late grandmother hired to keep an eye on her, the energy swirls more vividly than the northern night skies in
Vicki Lewis Thompson's screwball romance Nerd Gone Wild. Ally is determined to be a woman of the world, but even the unhospitable Alaska weather is conspiring against her. Stir in a nasty uncle after Ally's inheritance, and the dishy ambiance of an historic bordello reborn as Loose Moose Lodge, and you've got all the fixins for fun February fireworks.
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Two for the road
America's highway—historic Route 66—cements a fractured mother-daughter relationship in
Barbara Samuel's evocative story of mother Eldora and daughter India on a road-trip search for Gypsy, India's missing
schizophrenic twin. Lady Luck's Map of Las Vegas is a quest for the missing parts of each woman, and the truths unraveled are at once liberating and heartbreaking. Eldora, who has sustained a lifelong masquerade about her background, must disclose those long held secrets to her daughter. India, on the other hand, has a newer secret—her unplanned pregnancy. Their family legacy of mental illness compels India to weigh difficult alternatives. Truths, answers, laughter, tears—Barbara Samuel touches on every one of these with an irrepressible verve that make her latest novel another jewel in a treasured strand of priceless writing.
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Entering an isolated world
On the Isle of Wild Horses, Alannah relies on almost mystical senses to compensate for her blindness. But the Isle is a protected world until a storm washes Xanthier O'Bannon onto its shores after a shipwreck. The sea captain may be out of his element on the ethereal island, but the sight of the beautiful Alannah astride her white stallion captivates his heart. Their courtship is interrupted by the Scotsman's enemies in
Sasha Lord's swashbuckling historical fantasy, Across a Wild Sea. The vengeful Kurgan and his mercenary gang intend to destroy Xanthier and Alannah and their young daughter Istabelle, but the two fight back with astonishing courage. This absorbing romantic tale captures the epic scale of legends and wild seas with élan.
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Sandy Huseby writes from Fargo, North Dakota.
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