After thoroughly enjoying the freebie prequel novella, I was very excited to start the first book in the Folk Haven series. It certainly lived up to mAfter thoroughly enjoying the freebie prequel novella, I was very excited to start the first book in the Folk Haven series. It certainly lived up to my expectations! It’s just as sweet and funny and ever so much fun! While this is technically the second entry, there’s no need to have read the novella to enjoy this one.
“People rarely admit to needing help.” His gaze laughs as his grin goes lopsided. “Please, continue saving me. Likely as not, I need it.”
Delta isn’t happy to be back in Folk Haven. After her father’s death, she’s inherited his lake-front home, but all it reminds her of is how he changed after her mother’s death. Luckily, she doesn’t even have to step foot into the house, as she’s used to traveling around in her Airstream trailer with her dog Gigabyte, and she’s planning to continue doing that once she sells the house. Until she meets someone… It’s an absolute meet-disaster when Delta strips down and jumps into the lake, thinking she’s rescuing a drowning person… except it was a man leading a scuba diving lesson. Calder is immediately smitten with Delta, believing that since she “saved” him, according to selkie lore, she’s his fated mate. Now he just has to convince her…
“Dating—even if a curly-haired, brown-eyed scuba instructor was interested—isn’t in the cards for me right now. Most of my baggage exists on this lake, and I’m ready to dump the load and leave.”
I love Delta. She’s smart and hardworking, simultaneously teaching online university classes while at the same time taking classes for her dissertation. I felt for her, dealing with both the trauma of her dad’s death and being back in a place that reminded her of the years after her mother’s death. Luckily she’s got Calder as a distraction. Frankly, Calder reminded me of a energetic puppy. It’s not that he isn’t smart – he’s working towards his MBA as he wants to take over his parents’ water rental business – but he just has an overabundance of enthusiasm. He also doesn’t have much of a filter, resulting in a lot of hilarious exchanges. Most of the chapters from his viewpoint are about how amazing Delta is and how she’s his mate, yay! (Add a couple more exclamation points and you get the idea!) I could see where this could get annoying, but he is just so earnestly excited and smitten that it’s simply adorable. Delta seems to agree with me, at least, even though she struggles with how drawn she is to him. For various reasons, she prefers to live as unencumbered life as possible, traveling with only what she can carry in her Airstream, and that includes relationships. No matter what she feels for him, it can’t be anything more than a fling. As for Calder’s side? Well, there’s also the fact that she’s a selkie and she’s not, and he somehow has to tell her about that, if he can just figure out the right way. But my gosh, they are so adorable together I had a smile on my face pretty much every time they interacted.
“Your laughter is a siren’s song.” “Um …” Blood flushes hot and heavy in my cheeks. “You’re saying men want to crash their ships into rocks when they hear it?” Calder grins wide. “Something like that.”
It’s not just the relationship that made me happy. I was so happy to see more of the MacNamara family. Calder’s the youngest of the four MacNamara siblings, and between that and his personality, he’s constantly being teased by his older brothers. This book partially overlaps with the novella, so it includes the selkie house party from Calder and Delta’s POV, which was quite fun to read. And also like the novella, there’s a bit of a twist, though this one was hinted at pretty strongly in that novella. It’s a fun cherry on top of everything else, and I loved the way that reveal showed how much Calder and Delta had connected, how much they understood each other.
Overall, I’ve been very much enjoying this series. This book especially is a funny and sweet paranormal romance, and I can’t wait to read the next one!
I received an advance review copy of this book from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
After thoroughly enjoying the freebie prequel novella, I was very excited to start the first book in the Folk Haven series. It certainly lived up to my expectations! It’s just as sweet and funny and ever so much fun! While this is technically the second entry, there’s no need to have read the novella to enjoy this one.
“People rarely admit to needing help.” His gaze laughs as his grin goes lopsided. “Please, continue saving me. Likely as not, I need it.”
Delta isn’t happy to be back in Folk Haven. After her father’s death, she’s inherited his lake-front home, but all it reminds her of is how he changed after her mother’s death. Luckily, she doesn’t even have to step foot into the house, as she’s used to traveling around in her Airstream trailer with her dog Gigabyte, and she’s planning to continue doing that once she sells the house. Until she meets someone… It’s an absolute meet-disaster when Delta strips down and jumps into the lake, thinking she’s rescuing a drowning person… except it was a man leading a scuba diving lesson. Calder is immediately smitten with Delta, believing that since she “saved” him, according to selkie lore, she’s his fated mate. Now he just has to convince her…
“Dating—even if a curly-haired, brown-eyed scuba instructor was interested—isn’t in the cards for me right now. Most of my baggage exists on this lake, and I’m ready to dump the load and leave.”
I love Delta. She’s smart and hardworking, simultaneously teaching online university classes while at the same time taking classes for her dissertation. I felt for her, dealing with both the trauma of her dad’s death and being back in a place that reminded her of the years after her mother’s death. Luckily she’s got Calder as a distraction. Frankly, Calder reminded me of a energetic puppy. It’s not that he isn’t smart – he’s working towards his MBA as he wants to take over his parents’ water rental business – but he just has an overabundance of enthusiasm. He also doesn’t have much of a filter, resulting in a lot of hilarious exchanges. Most of the chapters from his viewpoint are about how amazing Delta is and how she’s his mate, yay! (Add a couple more exclamation points and you get the idea!) I could see where this could get annoying, but he is just so earnestly excited and smitten that it’s simply adorable. Delta seems to agree with me, at least, even though she struggles with how drawn she is to him. For various reasons, she prefers to live as unencumbered life as possible, traveling with only what she can carry in her Airstream, and that includes relationships. No matter what she feels for him, it can’t be anything more than a fling. As for Calder’s side? Well, there’s also the fact that she’s a selkie and she’s not, and he somehow has to tell her about that, if he can just figure out the right way. But my gosh, they are so adorable together I had a smile on my face pretty much every time they interacted.
“Your laughter is a siren’s song.” “Um …” Blood flushes hot and heavy in my cheeks. “You’re saying men want to crash their ships into rocks when they hear it?” Calder grins wide. “Something like that.”
It’s not just the relationship that made me happy. I was so happy to see more of the MacNamara family. Calder’s the youngest of the four MacNamara siblings, and between that and his personality, he’s constantly being teased by his older brothers. This book partially overlaps with the novella, so it includes the selkie house party from Calder and Delta’s POV, which was quite fun to read. And also like the novella, there’s a bit of a twist, though this one was hinted at pretty strongly in that novella. It’s a fun cherry on top of everything else, and I loved the way that reveal showed how much Calder and Delta had connected, how much they understood each other.
Overall, I’ve been very much enjoying this series. This book especially is a funny and sweet paranormal romance, and I can’t wait to read the next one!
I received an advance review copy of this book from the author. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Trigger warnings: childhood cancer survivor, description of a fatal boating accident
“Junior had been one of the best men she ever knew, and Frankie wa
Trigger warnings: childhood cancer survivor, description of a fatal boating accident
“Junior had been one of the best men she ever knew, and Frankie was blessed enough to know a wealth of good men. She hadn’t dated one yet, because she was related to most of them, and even though this was Georgia, there were laws against that sort of thing.”
This is the third book in the Southern Eclectic series, set in the small town of Lake Sackett, Georgia, and features possibly my favorite character, Frankie, the quirky coroner. However, I wouldn’t recommend starting the series with this book. Do yourself a favor and start with the first novella – Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck – because all these books are hilarious, quick reads and ever so much fun.
“Are you unfamiliar with the one-night-stand procedure?” she asked. “It’s ‘I came, I saw, I got out with as little fuss as possible.’ Not ‘I came, I saw, I neglected to mention I’ll be followin’ you to your hometown and workin’ in a close professional capacity with you for the foreseeable future.’ ”
Since the first book, I’ve been a fan of smart aleck Frankie, with her kaiju shirts and nerd cred. As a childhood cancer survivor who still lives at the family compound in a small Southern town, life can get a bit… stifling. Luckily, Frankie loves her job and the town, and it’s close enough to Atlanta that she can take off and blow off some steam on the weekends. Unfortunately, some of that follows her back to Lake Sackett when her latest one-night-stand turns out to be the new sheriff, and he’s prickly, standoffish, and complete immune to Frankie’s charm. Trying to work with him – while simultaneously trying to manage an escalating prank war from a spoiled brat teen – is enough to put Frankie off her momma’s deep fried food. Like Frankie, these books have a certain feel – they’re undeniably Southern (gently making fun while also being respectful), quirky, and just generally charming. So far, they’ve all been lighthearted, quick reads, perfect escapist reading material. They always put a smile on my face, no matter how short they are.
And, unfortunately, that’s my main issue with this book – it reads more like a preview for the next novel rather than a standalone novella. It ends abruptly, with none of the issues resolved (except a minor boating death). I hadn’t been paying attention to how far into the book I was (it’s just so much fun, you don’t really notice the time flying by) so it was especially jarring to just turn the page and be at the end. Also, while the blurb mentions Fourth of July, but the novella actually takes place in late summer / early autumn.
Overall, despite the fact that it didn’t feel like a complete story, I enjoyed reading about Frankie so much that I’d give it 3.5 llamas, rounded up to 4. I’m very much looking forward to Frankie’s book, which comes out in June!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Merged review:
Trigger warnings: childhood cancer survivor, description of a fatal boating accident
“Junior had been one of the best men she ever knew, and Frankie was blessed enough to know a wealth of good men. She hadn’t dated one yet, because she was related to most of them, and even though this was Georgia, there were laws against that sort of thing.”
This is the third book in the Southern Eclectic series, set in the small town of Lake Sackett, Georgia, and features possibly my favorite character, Frankie, the quirky coroner. However, I wouldn’t recommend starting the series with this book. Do yourself a favor and start with the first novella – Save a Truck, Ride a Redneck – because all these books are hilarious, quick reads and ever so much fun.
“Are you unfamiliar with the one-night-stand procedure?” she asked. “It’s ‘I came, I saw, I got out with as little fuss as possible.’ Not ‘I came, I saw, I neglected to mention I’ll be followin’ you to your hometown and workin’ in a close professional capacity with you for the foreseeable future.’ ”
Since the first book, I’ve been a fan of smart aleck Frankie, with her kaiju shirts and nerd cred. As a childhood cancer survivor who still lives at the family compound in a small Southern town, life can get a bit… stifling. Luckily, Frankie loves her job and the town, and it’s close enough to Atlanta that she can take off and blow off some steam on the weekends. Unfortunately, some of that follows her back to Lake Sackett when her latest one-night-stand turns out to be the new sheriff, and he’s prickly, standoffish, and complete immune to Frankie’s charm. Trying to work with him – while simultaneously trying to manage an escalating prank war from a spoiled brat teen – is enough to put Frankie off her momma’s deep fried food. Like Frankie, these books have a certain feel – they’re undeniably Southern (gently making fun while also being respectful), quirky, and just generally charming. So far, they’ve all been lighthearted, quick reads, perfect escapist reading material. They always put a smile on my face, no matter how short they are.
And, unfortunately, that’s my main issue with this book – it reads more like a preview for the next novel rather than a standalone novella. It ends abruptly, with none of the issues resolved (except a minor boating death). I hadn’t been paying attention to how far into the book I was (it’s just so much fun, you don’t really notice the time flying by) so it was especially jarring to just turn the page and be at the end. Also, while the blurb mentions Fourth of July, but the novella actually takes place in late summer / early autumn.
Overall, despite the fact that it didn’t feel like a complete story, I enjoyed reading about Frankie so much that I’d give it 3.5 llamas, rounded up to 4. I’m very much looking forward to Frankie’s book, which comes out in June!
I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
I was sad to see the end of the Cowboy State Lawmen series so when I realized Juno Rushdan’s next series was a spin-off? JOY! And I’ll be the first toI was sad to see the end of the Cowboy State Lawmen series so when I realized Juno Rushdan’s next series was a spin-off? JOY! And I’ll be the first to admit that I usually have zero interest in cowboy books but I will always, always make an exception for anything Ms. Rushdan writes!
A deadly fire at a summer camp changed the trajectory of high school sweethearts Liz and Sawyer’s lives. Fifteen years later, a string of arsons has brought Liz, now an FBI agent, back to her hometown and her ex, now the fire marshall. For Sawyer, the questions about why Liz shut him out when she left town are almost important about the questions surrounding the case, but Liz refuses to revisit the past with the man she once planned to marry. As the fires take a personal twist, will their own personal issues
“With the sheriff. They’re together. Didn’t think to mention it.” “Holden’s brother-in-law, the sheriff, is engaged to the chief of police?” “Yeah.”
I think Sawyer is the last of the Powell kids to get a book – though don’t quote me on that! For the next review I think I’ll have to make an infographic of how everyone is related and what book they’re in! So of course I found Liz’s confusion in the quote above absolutely hilarious. But all joking aside, it’s nice to be back in Laramie, though technically Liz is from neighboring Bison Ridge.
“Fire was a predictable beast. It breathed. It consumed. More importantly, it also spoke, telling a story. Sawyer only had to interpret. One thing he loved about his job was that fire didn’t lie. Whatever it showed him would be the truth.“
While the story was told from both characters’ points of view (with occasional interludes from the villain), I found Liz’s the most compelling. After the fire, in which she was badly burned, she moved away and unilaterally cut contact with Sawyer, her first love. She didn’t want him to stay with her – her newly scarred body, the complete change in the trajectory of her life – out of guilt and obligation. Fifteen years later, it’s perhaps not a surprise that she’s an expert in arsonists at the Behavioral Analysis Unit, a specialist department at the FBI. She’s used to hiding her scars with long sleeves and neckerchiefs, something that’s become her signature. But what, exactly, is Liz besides her work?
“She’d thought reliving the trauma of the fire would be the hardest part of coming back. Instead, the most difficult thing was blond, blue-eyed, six-three and two hundred pounds of pure stubbornness.”
Sawyer on the other hand stayed in Laramie and became the fire marshall (also a not surprising job choice). Surrounded by his loving family and friends, he’s moved on from a lot of things – but not Liz. Having her assigned to the case feels like fate and he has no intention of letting the past go. Sawyer wants to know why she shut him out all those years ago – and why they can’t pick right back up where they left off. Liz on the other hand believes that thinking of Sawyer and what they used to have makes her weak, that it’s a distraction from finding the killer. Good agents never let their personal emotions interfere with their jobs.
It’s easy to empathize with both sides. While their responses to the trauma are completely different, they both dealt with their hurt in the way they thought best. Their eventual communication and empathy for each other were very sweet and very fulfilling.
And of course, there’s the suspense! The arson plot is well done and figuring out the killer and their next victim was a lot of fun. There’s also a few instances of the main characters going “It can’t possible be… Naaah!” to some plot point that you already know is true thanks to the villain’s POV. Rather than spoiling it, it really added to my enjoyment and anticipation as I waited to see how and whether the characters would figure it out.
Overall, another great suspense from Juno Rushdan! Recommended for anyone looking for a well-paced second chance romance with an intriguing arson plot!
I received this book for free from the author, Purchased in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review....more
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