Tag Archives: second chances

Windswept Way, by Irene Hannon (Review)

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I’m joining the First Line Friday link-up again, hosted by Carrie at Reading is My Superpower. Today’s book is Windswept Way, by Irene Hannon.

And the first line is…

Maybe buying a haunted house wasn’t her best idea.

Book cover: Windswept Way, by Irene Hannon

Windswept Way, by Irene Hannon (Revell, 2023)

The chance at a partnership with the reclusive owner of a mysterious cliffside mansion brings Ashley Scott to the Oregon coast with the goal of establishing it as a premiere wedding destination.

The historic house is well maintained and stocked with period furniture. Transforming the grounds falls to local landscaper Jonathan Gray and his crew. Physically and emotionally scarred from the near-fatal explosion that ended his military service, Jon has come to the remote village of Hope Harbor to live a simple life and hide from gawkers.

Built by a lumber baron for his bride, the house’s subsequent tragic history led to rumours of haunting. But this isn’t a paranormal book, despite the isolated setting and the fog that creeps in. It’s a story of realistic, likeable people.

Filled with characters readers will embrace, this gentle story of second chances invites us to step out from any protective boundaries we may have allowed circumstances to construct around us. Sometimes secondary appear to have divine insight in what to say, especially Charley the taco truck owner. When God wants to get our attention, we’ll often meet His message at every turn. Fiction usually avoids this but when you’re looking for a heart-warming read with a comforting, almost fairy-tale feel, it’s a good fit. 

Windswept Way is my first taste of Irene Hannon’s Hope Harbor series. It’s book 9 and now I’d like to pick up book 1. Linked by place, each novel seems to feature different core characters and a fair dose of feel-good serendipity. Fans of Davis Bunn’s Miramar Bay series will enjoy the Hope Harbor series, and vice versa. The main difference I see is the Hope Harbor books have a strong faith thread where Miramar Bay is clean mainstream.

Irene Hannon is a bestselling, award-winning author of over 60 books, both romance and romantic suspense. For more about the author and her work, visit irenehannon.com.

[Review copy from the public library via Hoopla Digital.]

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Review: Unscripted, by Davis Bunn

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Unscripted, a novel by Davis Bunn

Unscripted, by Davis Bunn (Revell, 2019)

In Unscripted, Davis Bunn’s compelling prose pulls readers into the behind-the-scenes world of filmmaking. 

When up-and-coming line producer Danny Byrd is sprung from jail for a crime he didn’t commit by a team of lawyers who won’t disclose who’s paying them, he seizes the chance to rebuild his career. The catch: a short deadline and no script. Danny and his team will be filming as they write.

Megan Pierce, one of Danny’s new lawyers, stays involved as the project goes ahead. She and Danny are attracted to one another, but he’s carrying a lot of baggage. Some of the actors also come with issues, weaving a thread of second chances through the novel.

It’s fascinating to watch the film project unfolding and affecting the people involved. Some of the legal and contract wrangling went over my head, but that didn’t affect my enjoyment of the story.

My one concern involves elements of the ending. Not wanting to give spoilers, all I can say is that if I understood the activity of the hidden enemy, then I don’t understand a resolution that gives them a business opportunity instead of legal charges. I was also disappointed not to see Danny at least tentatively investigating the faith of some key mentors.

Overall, Unscripted is an enjoyable read with characters and plot that catch the imagination and the heart.

Favourite lines:

A dawn mist drifted through the streets, as vague as his whispers of fear and regret. [Kindle location 355]

His burdens were too heavy. He could not be bothered to carry lies as well. [Kindle location 2813]

Her silence was a dagger that carved away at all his arguments. [Kindle location 3372]

Recommended for readers who enjoy Hollywood stories, legal drama, relationships, and second chances.

Davis Bunn is a multi-award-winning author in a variety of Christian fiction genres as well as clean mainstream fiction. As Thomas Locke, he writes fantasy and techno-thrillers.

[Book has been provided via #NetGalley courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.]

Review: Dreamlander, by K.M. Weiland

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Dreamlander, by K.M. WeilandDreamlander, by K.M. Weiland (PenForASword, 2012)

Dreams weren’t supposed to be able to kill you. But this one was sure trying its best. [Kindle location 91]

What if… when you fell asleep, your dreams were real in another world?

Chris is a Gifted, one of very few who can cross the boundary between our world and the other. Each Gifted is brought to the other world to help in time of need, although the nature of that help isn’t immediately apparent.

We first meet Chris in present-day Chicago, where he’s a journalist afraid of commitment, avoiding his down-and-out father and basically drifting through life. Lately he’s been having strange dreams, and when he falls asleep and catapults into the Kingdom of Lael, all he wants to do is go home and make the dreams stop.

Princess Allara Katadin of Lael is a Searcher. Her role is to locate a Gifted when he or she crosses over, and to help the Gifted acclimatize and fulfill his or her role as that becomes clear. She was a child when her first Gifted arrived, and that episode of her life was a failure. A second Gifted in the same Searcher’s lifetime is practically unheard-of, and it’s the last thing Allara wants.

Lael is a mediaeval-type kingdom, with horses and swords. They do have guns, powered by hydraulics, and cable-cars which connect distant towns. They’re also under threat from a neighbouring country and from a dissenting faction within their own.

The world has different plant and animal life than Earth, including two other bipedal species and a guardian-angel type of being called the Garowai, a wise, mythic-looking creature who only tells Allara as much as she needs to know.

The world-building is thorough and intriguing, different enough to be fun but not deliberately strange to keep readers off balance. The characters and culture are richly-developed and relatable. This is another of those stories I didn’t want to see end. Happily, it’s a long one.

My favourite line:

Chris’s breath, trapped in the back of his throat, seeped free. [Kindle location 2709]

The narrative slips between Lael, where Chris, who doesn’t believe in second chances, desperately needs a way to right the wrong he does in the beginning – and stop a war – and Chicago, where he’s trying to evade a hit-man. Between the two worlds, Chris may gain the wisdom needed to make his life count.

Dreamlander is a satisfying novel, the sort that leaves me mulling it over for a while before I can open another book. K.M. Weiland has two other novels, Behold the Dawn (historical) and A Man Called Outlaw (western), as well as a collection of resources for writers. She has a page on her website with extras and bonus features for Dreamlander, and her Helping Writers Become Authors site has a wealth of writing resources.

[Review copy from my personal library.]