GRR Reviews Ask Mariah by Barbara Freethy

Michael is at his wit's end regarding his six-year-old twin girls Rose and Lily, since his wife's accidental death. The two girls speak, just not to him. They love him, but they somehow believe their mama isn't dead, despite all the adults telling them so. The twins believe what Mariah, a fortuneteller in a crystal ball that talks only in riddles, has the answer, and Mariah told them to go to school. Then they saw their new teacher at their school, and everything changed... Because Joanna looks almost just like their mama... That even Micahel, their dad, was slack-jawed... // Joanna knew something was missing from her life. She never knew it could be twin girls that keep calling her mama, despite her every attempt to deny it (gently). And Michael, despite his haunted and tired look, is dream-worthy. She had a good life, but she somehow always felt a little out-of-place. There are secrets in her past, and it will be up to her and Michael to find the truth... to heal them and the girls... with a little more help from Mariah.

Wow, this is one heck of a novel. It has a bit of everything: a mystery, a meet-cute, a soap-opera worthy plot twist (or three), two adorable kids who get into trouble, sins of our parents, cover-up, even just a little supernatural to help it along. 5/5

GRR Reviews Almost Home by Barbara Freethy

Katherine is in Paradise, Kentucky on a quest to find her birth father, after her mother's death. All she knew is his name starts with J. No surname. Zach, the handsome cowboy, was not a part of her plans, nor was running into a ditch after almost ramming his horse trailer. They couldn't be more different. She's a California city girl. He's a Kentucky country cowboy, with a horse that can win a huge derby. But he has a bad reputation in town he's trying to redeem, and she's finding that some people prefer their secrets hidden. How much of her life did her mother hide from her? Will both of them find what they are searching for?

Sort of a "sins of our fathers and mothers" scenario, it's clear much of Katherine's knowledge about her mother's past were lies... Good complex scenarios that combined mystery with slow-wooing. 5/5

GRR Reviews On A Night Like This (Callaways Book 1) by Barbara Freethy

On a Night Like This is about two damaged people coming together, one suffered a bit of amnesia and desperate for answers, other found a bit of family secret that made her question everything she thought she knew about herself.

Aiden Callaway is a smokejumper (a forest firefighter), until something went very wrong. His best friend Kyle died on the job. and he awoke at the bottom of a ravine, only recalling fragments of what had happened. Everybody assumed he had f***ed up somehow. The only way out would be to put the blame on the dead man, which he was unwilling to do. Upon arrival at his home, he had to rescue a neighbor from a house fire, and found himself face to face with Sara. Sara was the good girl and Aiden was the bad boy from way back when. They never hooked up, but that's because Aiden turned her down... even when she threw herself at him that one drunken night. She's now back in town, hoping to reconnect with her father, who somehow never liked her, and something in the basement of her father's smoke-charred house made her realize her life may have been a lie... and the only one she could turn to was Aiden, in search of his own truth...

I personally found the romance to be a bit forced. Sure they were neighbors, sure they had a history once, but is that enough so they are the only ones to turn to for each other? But the background, the mystery, and more sure made the book above average.

Category: Contemporary

Primary Plot: A forest firefighter in crisis met a girl who just had her life turned upside down; can they solve each other's problems?

Tropes: firefighter, amnesia, family secrets, woman in peril, man in peril, rescue, conspiracy

Overall Rating:  4/5

GRR Reviews Beautiful Storm (Lightning Strikes #1) by Barbara Freethy

When viewed as strictly a mystery, Beautiful Storm was definitely a success due to an intriguing teaser. However, the romance that followed seems to lack spark.

Alicia Monroe was fascinated by lightning after her father's plane disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico one night in an electrical storm. She moved out of her home in Texas to Miami to be closer to the weather, as a private storm chaser. One night, while chasing a lightning storm, she witnessed what she thought to be a murder. When she got to the scene, she can only find a dog tag belonging to Lilliana Valdez, a US navy JAG attorney missing for two months, and no body. Police tried to restart their investigation which ran cold, but Alicia, haunted by her own demons, vowed to conduct her own investigation, and met Michael Cordero, who is a person of interest because Lilliana contacted him last before her disappearance. The two teamed together to chase down additional clues and realized they stumbled into a conspiracy with two more deaths in Texas, and may have a link to Alicia's own past. Now they must solve the murders... or become the next victims.

The mystery was definitely peeled slowly with layers and layers of deception. However, there was no spark between Alicia and Michael. They are TOO much alike.

Category: Contemporary / Romantic Suspense

Primary Plot: Reporter/storm chaser fascinated with lightning found herself drawn into the disappearance of navy lieutenant investigating a double murder, and an investigator who is also involved...

Tropes: conspiracy, reporter, woman in peril, protector, forced proximity

Overall Rating:  4/5