Review: This Heart of Mine by Brenda Novak

I wish I could give this book ten stars it was so AMAZING. I started listening to this book on audio and I was so interested in the characters and the plot that I jumped for joy when I saw I had an e-galley of it. Needless to say it was so incredibly beautiful. I cried the first 20% of the book. When I started reading it I was so exhausted and when I realized the time it was 1 AM!!

I’ve read Brenda Novak before so I kind of expect her heroine to be a certain way. Her heroines are usually outcasts of society and women down on their luck. This was Phoenix all the way. But I absolutely loved her. She was the kindest and most loving person. I could not help crying for her and her struggle. Unjustly accused of the death of one of her classmates, Phoenix spends seventeen years in prison. Not only that but she finds out she is pregnant and never gets a chance to see her son after he is born. Instead of making her angry and bitter, Phoenix comes out determined to prove herself, and if he is willing, become a part of her son’s life-Jacob.

I have to confess that the hero-Riley Fuller took me longer to like. I get that they were both young when two big things happened 1) they found out they were having a baby and 2) she was sent to prison. But I really wanted to inflict some harm on Riley. He was the golden boy who had everything handed to him on a silver spoon. He had so many prejudices against Phoenix all because of what people around him thought. Phoenix’s life was very far from ideal. She grew up with a mother that did not take care of her and had her own physiological issues. I also understand that his parents pressured him to break up with Phoenix when they were still only 18 but in the 17 years she was in prison he never took their son to see her. He also kept letters from him that Phoenix wrote to Jacob. It broke my heart. This book was just one big open wound for me. But I LOVED IT! I loved Phoenix and her determination to make a life for herself. She was so careful not to push her son and was always walking on egg shells so she wouldn’t cause any problems for the people she loved. This is one of my favorite stories. I will re-read this book and I already have recommended it to my friends and anyone that will speak to me.

Even though I didn’t think Riley deserved Phoenix and I wanted Novak to make him suffer a little, I loved Riley and Phoenix together. I was so happy with when they finally got their much deserved happily-ever-after. I loved their chemistry and I loved the pacing of the story. I also like that Riley finally does so much overdue “manning” up. The characters from the previous books appear and add to the warm and inviting feel of Whiskey Creek. I also really loved Jacob. I thought he was such a sweet kid and loved the banter he shared with his father. Now that I have some time off to look forward to, I might just sit and binge on all the “Whiskey Creek” books. So far, I have not read one that I did not enjoy.

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ARC Review: A Winter Wedding by Brenda Novak

I’ve read a couple of books by Brenda Novak. I’ve read both her contemporary and historical romances. Some books have been a hit and others a miss. But “A Winter Wedding” was a definite hit! Continuing her Whiskey Creek series, “A Winter Wedding” is Kyle Houseman’s story. I remember Kyle from previous books but he didn’t stand out. I really enjoyed getting to know him in this book.

Some of the characteristics of Novak’s books is that she always has a hero and heroine and a very awful villain or villainess. In this book the villainess is Noelle, Kyle’s ex -wife. Kyle has a very interesting history. He was in love with Olivia but after a break up he ends up married to her sister, Noelle. Olivia returns to Whiskey Creek and ends up falling in love with Kyle’s stepbrother! All this takes place in “When We Touch” (Whiskey Creek 0.5). Kyle ends up divorcing Noelle but never really getting over Olivia. Brandon, his stepbrother, and him are finally able to build a relationship but his feelings for Olivia is the big elephant in the room.

I was so excited for Kyle. He is a really nice guy. He dedicated his life to his family and friends and has really given up on love. He made horrible mistakes, which he is still paying for, since Noelle still bothers him all the time. He wants to be free of her but can’t figure out how.

When Lourdes Bennett rents out his property she is the fresh of air he needs. Lourdes however, comes with a lot of baggage. She is uncertain in her country music singing career, and her fiancé might be a son ex-fiancé. When her furnace breaks down she stays with Kyle.

I loved Kyle and Lourdes together. They were so different and so completely different but yet so perfect for each other. I loved how Novak developed a relationship between them before anything else happened. Kyle and Lourdes became best friends, figuratively and literally becoming the other’s should to cry on and slowly transforming into something else. Their underlining chemistry was just one factor.

Novak dealt with different issues in this story, such as infidelity. I loved how she dealt with it and I found it to be unexpected. It was refreshing. I don’t want to give too much away but it really added to the characters. Also, Noelle is so awful, I cheered when she got what was due to her. The friends from the past book make and appearance and just add to the storyline between Kyle and Brenda. I couldn’t put this book down. I was completely engrossed and in love with Kyle and Lourdes! I found this to be a great continuation to the Whiskey Creek series.

**ARC provided by Publisher**

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Audiobook Review: Home to Whiskey Creek by Brenda Novak, Narrated by Carly Robins

Brenda Novak is a very intense author. I’ve read her before so I knew what to expect. “Home to Whiskey Creek” deals with a lot of serious and very scary topics. Although I applaud the author for speaking about these issues, at times it was very difficult to hear about. I say this only because sometimes we read a romance novel for some light fun and this book is definitely not light.

Nonetheless, I really enjoyed this story. One of Novak’s trademarks is that she always puts her heroines through the wringer. All the books I’ve read by her the heroine always has to deal with very difficult odds, and the same goes for “Home to Whiskey Creek.”

When the story begins, I mean the very beginning, our heroine is stuck down in a mine. Adelaide Davies was basically kidnapped from her home and thrown in a deserted mine after returning back to Whiskey Creek. The purpose of this was to warn her. The kidnapper wanted her to keep her mouth shut about a terrible crime she suffered back in high school. Noah Rackham is riding his bike when he hears her crying for help. When Addy returns home, although she is grateful to Noah, she basically wants nothing to do with him. There are many different reasons for this and I enjoyed learning about Addy and her history.

So a couple of things about the series. Because it centers on a group of friends who live in Whiskey Creek or return to Whiskey Creek the author has a habit of bringing them all into the story. I personally find this to be too overwhelming. There are so many different characters to keep track of. Also, I thought that Noah and Addy fell in love too quickly. Noah knows very little about Addy. He was the popular jock in high school and she was one of the smart kids. Aside from that he knows nothing about her, who she is as a person but he can’t understand why she doesn’t fall at his feet like all the other women in his life. This refusal is enough to intrigue him.

Despite these observations, I was intrigued by the story and the characters. Baxter, Noah’s best friend also has a sub-story and I really liked that Novak dealt with it very honestly and realistically. I also really got to like Noah because of his relationships, even his complicated ones. Addy had her own share of complicated relationships and I thought that they really gave a lot of insight to her character as well.

The narrator, Carly Robins, did a really good job. She had to voice many different characters and I thought she was able to give them all a distinctive sound.

As I said previously, Novak is an intense writer and since some of her stories are pretty intense they are not always easy but I was completely intrigued and wanted to see how she would play our all the different plots involved.

**Audiobook provided by Tantor.com**

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Feature and Giveaway: Come Home to Me by Brenda Novak

When Presley Christensen returns to Whiskey Creek with her little boy after two years away, she has completely changed her life. She's made peace with her past and overcome the negative behavior that resulted from her difficult childhood. Now she's back in the small town that was the closest thing to "home" she ever knew—the town where she can be with the sister who's her only family.

There's just one catch. Aaron Amos still lives in Whiskey Creek, at least until he moves to Reno to open a branch of the Amos brothers' auto body shop. And no matter how hard she's tried, Presley hasn't been able to get over him. Seeing him again makes the longing so much worse. But she hopes she can get through the next few months, because she can't fall back into his arms…or his bed. She's come too far to backslide now. And there's a secret she's been guarding—a secret she'll do anything to protect.

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Guest Post with Author Brenda Novak and Giveway

Please welcome author Brenda Novak to RFTC. Brenda is celebrating her newest release, Home to Whiskey Creek and is here to chat.

New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author Brenda Novak is the author of more than forty-five books. A three-time Rita nominee, she has won many awards, including the National Reader's Choice, the Bookseller's Best, the Book Buyer's Best, the Daphne, and the Holt Medallion. She also runs an annual on-line auction for diabetes research every May at www.brendanovak.com (her youngest son has this disease). To date, she's raised over $2 million. Brenda has a brand new small-town contemporary series out. Come meet the long-time friends who have made Whiskey Creek the “Heart of Gold Country,” with WHEN WE TOUCH (prequel novella), WHEN LIGHTNING STRIKES (Book #1), WHEN SNOW FALLS (Book #2), WHEN SUMMER COMES (Book #3), HOME TO WHISKEY CREEK (Book #4) and TAKE ME HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (Book #6 due out October 29, 2013).

Places to find Brenda:

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