Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The "PRAIRIE HEARTS" Series from author Caroline Fyffe--wonderfully realized characters and touching historical romance

 
Before the Larkspur Blooms (Prairie Hearts, #2)
 
 
 
Caroline Fyffe returns to the windswept prairies of Wyoming with a beautiful story of rekindled love…

Thomas Donovan spent eight long years in prison, convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Finally released, he returns home to Logan Meadows, Wyoming, to discover his parents long buried and his neighbors wanting nothing to do with him. Suddenly the fresh start Thom longed for seems downright impossible until a spirited beauty from his past becomes his unlikely champion, and the walls around his injured heart begin to crumble?

Hannah Hoskins was brokenhearted when Thom Donovan was sent away. While the rest of the town was quick to brand him a no-count thief, Hannah always knew better. Now the boy she once loved has returned home a man ? a man whom Hannah's suitor, the town's deputy sheriff, is determined to destroy. When a crime spree starts anew, suspicion immediately falls on Thom, and it's up to Hannah to prove his innocence, earn him a second chance at life ? and win them both a second chance at love.
 
 
MY REVIEW:
 
 
For me, storytelling is all about how the characters are portrayed. I must care about the people and want to follow their story and find out what happens to them. Even the supporting players, the not so nice people, and especially the villains should be well-drawn and multi-layered. Minor characters, sharply etched in a few well-chosen words, add such rich flavor to a story line. Characters are the elements which capture and hold my interest in whatever I am reading. To my joy as a reader, I found such well-written characters in "Before the Larkspur Blooms", my first read by author Caroline Fyffe. In the very first chapter, the description of Thom Donovan's elation at being released from prison is sorrowfully tempered when he learns that his parents and his brother have all passed away while Thom was in prison. His sister has married and moved away, and the family farm now belongs to someone else. Eight years in prison for a crime he didn't commit have changed Thom in many ways, but one thing hasn't changed, and that is the emotional bond between him and Hannah Brown. Hannah had been his neighbor and the best friend of his little sister, Anne Marie. She had often tagged along after Thom and his best friend Caleb Hoskins, showing hero-worship in her eyes each time she looked at Thom. Returning to Logan Meadows, and seeing Hannah again is both joyful and surprising for Thom. She is now Hannah Hoskins, and a widow, having married Caleb while Thom was in prison. She is also the mother of a young son, Markus. Hannah runs a small restaurant, The Silky Hen, that she inherited when Caleb passed away. A sweet childhood friendship between a girl and a boy finally comes into full bloom as an even sweeter love between a deserving young man and a young woman who has waited for him all her life. However, there are old issues which haunt them, including the prejudices against Thom's time in prison and his Irish heritage. Thom also has a very personal secret, one which threatens not only the happiness between him and Hannah, but may also take his very life. I so enjoyed "Before the Larkspur Blooms", and I look forward to reading "Where the Wind Blows", the first book in the wonderful "Prairie Hearts" series from author Caroline Fyffe.

Review Copy Gratis Amazon Vine
 
 
 
Where the Wind Blows (Prairie Hearts, #1)
 
 
 
Winner of RWA’s Golden Heart Award and Write Touch Readers Award 2010.


Chase Logan is content. He’s free as a clear mountain stream and that suits him just fine. When he’s mistaken for Jessie Strong’s husband, he’s shocked, but her imploring gaze has him agreeing to play along—for three days—just until the adoption papers for darling three-year-old Sarah are finalized.

“CHARMING.” –RT BOOKREVIEW

Jessie knows Chase’s sense of chivalry is the reason he’s stepped in, but her imagination can’t help but pretend what life might be like with a man like Chase. He’s handsome and kind—and a bit dangerous, too.


The love that grows between Chase and Jessie defies the wildness of the land, the danger outside the door—but the secret between them is hurtful enough to shatter Jessie’s heart. Will it rip them apart? Or will their dream of being a real family come true at last, no matter… Where the Wind Blows


“AN ABSOULTELY DELIGHTFUL TALE PENNED BY AN AUTHOR SURE TO MAKE A NAME FOR HERSELF.” –Pamela Britton, Bestselling Author

"The love that unfolds in this tender and emotional story will touch your heart. Caroline Fyffe has created a cast of endearing characters who will live in your imagination long after you turn the last page. Don't miss this breathtaking debut." -Patti Berg, USA Today Bestselling Author
 
 
CAROLINE FYFFE
 
Caroline Fyffe
 
 
USA Today Bestselling Author Caroline Fyffe was born in Waco, Texas, the first of many towns she would call home during her father's career with the US Air Force. A horse aficionado from an early age, she earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications from California State University-Chico before launching what would become a twenty-year career as an equine photographer. She began writing fiction to pass the time during long days in the show arena, channeling her love of horses and the Old West into a series of Western historicals. Her debut novel, Where the Wind Blows, won the Romance Writers of America's prestigious Golden Heart Award as well as the Wisconsin RWA's Write Touch Readers' Award. She and her husband have two grown sons and live in Kentucky.

Visit Caroline at www.carolinefyffe.com
See her photographs at www.carolinefyffephoto.com
http://facebook.com/caroline.fyffe
Twitter @carolinefyffe
Write to her at caroline@carolinefyffe.com. She loves hearing from readers!

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