Review: My Candy Valentine by Darlene Franklin and Hallowed Halls by Hannah Alexander

Gilbert Williams sweeps Catrina Jensen off her feet when he arrives in Loveland, Oklahoma, shortly after New Year’s Day 1916. When the reason for his interest in her delicious candies is revealed, her affection turns to fear. Is her hero a traitor in disguise?

Review: This is a wonderful, sweet romance. I enjoyed reading about Catrina and Gilbert’s struggles as they overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles in order to be together. Ms. Franklin has a writing style that pulls you into the story and begs you to return.

Rating: 4 roses out of 5


When Dr. Joy Gilbert is fired from a lucrative position she hates in the city, she returns to her small hometown to find her former fiance single, her once vivacious mother struggling financially and physically, and Tressa, the 15-year-old daughter of the boss who just fired her, popping out of the back door of her car. Tressa refuses to return to the city, where her divorced parents struggle emotionally over the death of their son. When Dr. Zack Tyler sees Joy walk into the ER with the daughter of the man who lured Joy away from him, he’s hesitant, though he’s overjoyed to see her again. Out of compassion, he hires her in the ER so she can support herself and her mother, and their relationship blooms.

Meanwhile, Tressa has blackouts that grow increasingly bad. Joy and Zack rediscover their love for one another as they discover what caused the break-up. Together they work to save Tressa and uncover a rare genetic defect, a mystery that has ravaged decades of Tressa’s family line.

Review: The characters of Hallowed Halls pop off the page and insert themselves into your heart. I loved Tress especially. The subtle use of sarcasm made the story more realistic to me. This novel reiterates the importance of honest communication, and that making assumptions about something can cause a lot of problems.

I was completely surprised by the number of incidental grammatical errors–a missing letter in the middle of a word or a word that was left out completely. While these didn’t detract from the goodness of the story, they were distracting for a grammar nerd like myself.

Rating: 4 roses out of 5

I received these books from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Happy reading,

Ginger

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