A Season for Sin by Nicky Dreiling

A Season of Sin. Nicky Dreiling. September 2012. Published by Forever Yours and sold by Hachette Book Group. 122 pages. Sold at all major e-book retailers.

Andrew Carrington has just had one of the shocks of his life – dumped by his latest mistress turned shrew!!!  Surprise!

Andrew is the Earl of Bellingham, a man who is scrupulously diligent about not altering his home habits and rituals.  Indeed his chef will quit because he is wasting his talents cooking only bacon and eggs for breakfast every single day! But that is the least of what haunts “Bell” as he is called.  For Bell has undergone a devastating loss about which no one speaks and he tries extremely hard to avoid thinking about.  When those thoughts threaten to vividly intrude, his answer is to seek out another mistress to support and dally with for a while!

So Andrew is nonplussed when a fire ensues followed by a party at which he will meet a widow, Laura Davenport, a stepmother who is trying to keep her unruly stepson out of the deep trouble he is aching to embrace.

Yes, Laura, though met late in the story, is a definite challenge for Bell, one which is unusual as in his ears all he hears are the stories of his friends who are finally “settling down.”  A challenge has been cast and will probably develop further in future novels.  An intriguing and pleasant read!

Last Chance Bride by Hope Ramsay

Last Chance Bride. Hope Ramsay. September 2012. Published by Forever Yours and sold by Hachette Book Group. 63 pages. Sold at all major e-book retailers.

Stone and Sharon are an “item” in town.  Everyone has their future predicted, it seems.  But all of a sudden, a head-on collision occurs! 

For Stone doesn’t want to do what his family desires, go to college. Instead he’s enlisted in the Marines and wants to tell his love, Sharon, before his family. What will happen to that perfect future they had both talked about – sharing a room and college life before they married, far off in the future of course?

Sharon is making lists, lists, and more lists.  She intent on getting everything she needs for a cause she’s sponsoring, raising money and blood donations for a young girl hurt in an accident that left her crippled with severe spinal injuries.  Sharon wants to be a social worker, a person who makes a difference in the lives of others.  She’s also excited about attending college and has no intentions of marrying soon.  But she’s about to be shocked down to her toes to find her dreams aren’t going to progress as planned.  How will she handle it?

How will the town chatterboxes handle this change of plans?  Should Sharon and Stone mind their predictions and prophecies for the future?

Last Chance Bride is a brief fun read with some predictability but also some mystery.  It moves fast and furious toward an unexpected read and leaves some room for another novel in the future! Good read!