Linda Winstead JonesRezensionen

It was very cute and sweet and I really enjoyed it. Exactly what I needed at this time of the year.

I really like this series. It's very light and funny, nothing too serious or scary, lots of fun scenes and ideas, I had a wonderful time reading it. I will definitely read more books by this author in the future.

This book was a nice surprise for me, it was an engaging paranormal adventure and I enjoyed it very much. It was a bit slow in the middle and Echo was not the most inspiring heroine ever, but I really liked the hero and I was quite surprised in the end. Four stars.

Friendship with boy at summer camp turns into love years later during renovation of camp.

Send me to Mystic Springs Please!!!

I’ve only read a few Bigfoot shifter books, I loved those and this book was just as amazing. This is the first book I’ve read by this author and it definitely won’t be the last. The mystery behind Mystic Springs kept me on the edge of my seat and when we read about librarian Marnie coming to town and it starts off with a string of bad luck and one of those was seeing Bigfoot. She is very skeptical about this town because everything seems off even some of the residents hating her for no reason. Then several run in with Clint and she starts to think she could adjust to this place with him there. The suspense of things happening kept Marnie wanting to leave but Clint kept asking her to stay. Clint is her knight in aging flannel but he has his own secrets so can they navigate things, can he protect her, will she leave and never look back? All these are answered and I loved all of it. Can’t wait to read more.

We are back in Mystic Springs following the story of Luke and Jordan. They have known of each other all their lives but have never given any romantic thoughts toward each other until recently. Jordan is back but her special set of skills is not working like they should so she seeks out a Luke’s help thinking his special skill might be able to help. The chemistry between these two are instant and off the charts, but Jordan has been through a lot and is shy and standoffish. With all the mystery and suspense that is happening in town can these two seek help in each other and learn to love or will Jordan constantly be haunted by her past? Such a quick but cute read.

Marnie Somerset is looking for a new start. She's recently lost her job at the Birmingham Public Library and broken up with her boring boyfriend. When she sees an ad for the Mystic Springs Library, she's ready for adventure.

She wasn't expecting to have a flat tire on her way to town and see Bigfoot cross the road ahead of her though. Bigfoot isn't the only strange thing about Mystic Springs. Most of the people are strangely unwelcoming. However, the library is fantastic, her new house feels like home right away, and the local writer is interesting even though he writes horror.

Clint Maxwell has always lived in Mystic Springs. Even when he goes out on author tours, he tries to not be away for more than ten days at a time. Clint has a secret: he is one of the few remaining Bigfeet. If he's gone too long his magic diminishes. Other residents of the town are witches, warlocks, werewolves. All have different opinions on whether or not Mystic Springs should join the greater world and let the magic spread or become another Brigadoon and withdraw from the world.

Marnie is a librarian. Her go-to is to do research and read books. She finds one about the search for Bigfoot and emails the author. She doesn't expect the author to show up in town wanting to film Bigfoot for a new cable television series. The new arrival is a modern-day Mr. Darcy but not nearly as interesting to Marnie as Clint who is a much more rugged type.

Things heat up when Marnie learns that the former librarian, whose house she's living in, was murdered for her role in the debate about the town. It looks like she had hidden something that might tip the scales one way or the other and some of the residents are determined to find it whether or not Marnie gets in their way.

This was an entertaining paranormal romance/urban fantasy. It begins a series.

2.5 stars. Not my usual genre, so maybe my rating should be taken with a grain of salt. I needed something light and distracting. This story of summer camp revisited as an adult pretty much fit the bill.

La reformadora inmobiliaria Olivia Bellamy accedió de mala gana a regresar al campamento de su familia en las montañas Catskills, donde su trabajo consistiría en poner a punto las instalaciones abandonadas para que sus abuelos celebraran allí sus bodas de oro. El campamento Kioga siempre había sido un destino de ensueño, pero su situación actual era tan lamentable que Olivia se vio obligada a contratar los servicios de Connor Davis, el que fuera su amor platónico durante los veranos que habían pasado juntos en aquel lugar.

This book was a good enough read but I don't think it's going to be a reread. I am fond of the woman on the run set up but somehow it wasn't all that interesting here. I think because her reaction seemed extreme for what had happened. Yes the other girl getting killed was bad but her running off the grid and always moving on would have made more sense if he was shown continually finding her. Because otherwise hunkering down on the ranch where there was little possibility that she would be found was the better option. Plus she knew an awful lot about Brad's computer abilities than I think she would have after just two dates. There was no tension here because until someone made a mistake you knew he couldn't find her so there was no sense of approaching danger.

The romance was okay, but slow and not very intense. There was not a lot of conflict in their relationship other than when she was going to give in and sleep with him. He didn't try very hard to win her just thought a lot that he would wait until she was ready. I almost felt like they didn't love each other. The scenes on the ranch were interesting but not enough seemed to happen to fill up a book this long.

I'll try the rest of the books in the series when they come out I guess. But I won't be holding my breath.

I enjoyed this book. A good beginning to a new series. Unfortunately, there hasn't yet been a follow up. In this book, the main character, Carlin, is running from a stalker ex. She lands in Battle Ridge at Zeke's ranch. There she finds a hiding place but also love. The only problem I had with the book was that the stalker ex seemed too extreme. Otherwise this was a well written enjoyable story.

I absolutely loved this series.

Zeke was a straightforward guy and like in all good romances, devoted to protecting his woman. Carlin made a good fist of being a ranch cook - that was the most interesting thing about her - didn't find her so interesting as a romance character. Found the Brad stalking plot line a little boring, but still, a reliable yarn from Linda Howard and Linda Jones.½

Enjoyed the descriptions of being at a summer camp for wealthy kids mostly. Never did truly understand why Connor ever wanted to date Lolly during his final year at camp - understood the friendship but not the love. Truly admired Connor for his ability to pull himself up as an adult while dealing with family issues (drunk father, non-caring mother). Also wonder how future books will deal with his half brother, Julian which was an entertaining character. Liked the comparisons of father's behavior to daughter's for dealing with someone of a lower class. Mother exhibited the typical snob attitudes.

Great light reading, perfect when you don't have time to get into complicated plots. A little more graphic than I really like, but all in all, a fun read.

Marnie Somerset’s new job at the Mystic Springs Library seems almost too good to be true. Yes, the small Alabama town is populated with more than its share of odd people, and she did have a flat tire on her way into town and hallucinate Bigfoot crossing the road, which made for less than a stellar start. But the library is fantastic, her new house is charming, and the hot local writer keeps crossing her path.

In more ways than one.

Clint Maxwell is drawn to the new librarian, even though he knows getting involved with someone from outside Mystic Springs would be a very bad idea. Marnie’s not a Springer, and she won’t last long in a town awash with magic. Still, when she’s threatened he feels compelled to protect her. Is she meant to be his? Is this the woman he’s been waiting for?½

Summer at Willow Lake is a fun romance novel that touches some serious themes. The story is set at Camp Kioga in the Catskills. The camp has been owned and operated by the Bellamy family for multiple generations, but it has been shut down for the past nine years. When the novel begins, Olivia Bellamy, a twenty-seven-year-old business woman who owns a company that prepares (or fluffs) homes to be put on the market, is approached by her grandmother, Jane Bellamy. Jane's plan is to hire Olivia to renovate the camp so that she and her husband, Charles, can hold their golden anniversary party there.

Olivia is good at her work, so her business is very successful. However, she's not very good at her relationships with men. Something always goes wrong. Shortly before Olivia's Nana approaches her, Olivia suffers her latest breakup. Although renovating a camp that's been shuttered for so long is a project that will be challenging, an opportunity to get out of the city for the summer is just what she needs. She agrees to handle the project.

One of the first things Olivia needs to do when she arrives at the camp is to hire a contractor. Of course, there's only one contractor in the small town and he turns out to be the person who broke her heart one summer when they were both counselors at the camp.

The plot of Summer at Willow Lake is centered around Olivia's relationship through what is happening in the present as well as flashbacks to her time as a teenager. Yet the story also branches off to touch other romances, including events that happened to Olivia's father back when he was at the camp. I liked way these other stories were woven into the main narrative.

Although the book has some very humorous sections, it also deals with some serious topics such as alcohol addiction and the effects of divorce on children.

Not really into contemporary romances anymore, but since I really loved Wiggs' historical work, I thought I would give this series a try. I -almost- did not like the heroine, and I'm still troubled by the "weight loss made me beautiful" trope. BUT I really loved the chemistry, the hero, and the interwoven story lines. Clearly, the rest of the series is going to be interesting. Looking forward to catching up.

Wonderful 1st of a series book. I am looking forward to reading more. Good characters and believable story.

4.5 stars

I thought this book was just as good as The Sun Witch, but I didn't like Juliet and Ryn as much. I thought Juliet was a prude and her insistence on denying her destiny got annoying really fast. Ryn had a cave-man mentality that made sense for the story, but was equally annoying.

Even though Liane and Sebestyen are the "villains", I think they are very interesting characters and I hope they get a HEA.

This was good, but not as good as the first two. Isadora was a bit annoying and Lucan a little hard-headed, but it was an enjoyable and satisfying read.

4.5 stars

This book was surprisingly good. I really liked Sophie. Though she grew up sheltered, she was able to realize her potential to rescue her daughter. I thought Kane was a pretty good hero and a perfect match for Sophie.

The side story dealing with the war and the emperor was very intriguing and kept me on the edge of my seat. I can't wait to read the next book in this trilogy.

I didn't get very far - Chapter 5 only.. it was so detailed with ramblings about how Carlin always needed to be safe, and couldn't do stuff because Brad was could find her.. and Zeke went on and on about the cooking and laundry.. mundane tasks. Both situations were repeated over and over. So I had to stop the book. When Carlin was joking around she came across more of a silly airhead.. not funny at all.

As I was listening to the audio edition, the reader I found limited - not enough voices for the characters, and while her voice was not annoying, I would have liked more enthusiasm and expression in the reading.

I usually enjoy Linda howards books.. but this one is not for me. Sadly it goes into my small DNF pile.

Imagine Dirty Dancing's Johnny and Baby returning to the Catskills resort ten years later...


Chubby Olivia "Lolly" Bellamy was the proverbial pain in the butt at her grandparent's Camp Kioga during their troubled teenage summers, yet she and Connor Davis formed a tentative friendship as two teenagers who didn't quite 'belong.

Read the full review at:
http://www.kees2create.com/blog/2012/07/26/Book-Review-Summer-at-Willow-Lake.asp...

I absolutely loved this series.

I enjoyed this book. A good beginning to a new series. Unfortunately, there hasn't yet been a follow up. In this book, the main character, Carlin, is running from a stalker ex. She lands in Battle Ridge at Zeke's ranch. There she finds a hiding place but also love. The only problem I had with the book was that the stalker ex seemed too extreme. Otherwise this was a well written enjoyable story.