Pamela TracyBesprekingen

Art teaching assistant Janie Vincent is checking her students’ art books when one student’s drawings leave her greatly disturbed. Derek's drawings seem to depict a murder scene and there is accompanying text which sounds like Derek was present at the murder. She hopes this is just made up, but she soon discovers that the referenced murder ties to a girl from the college that has gone missing. Handsome cop Rafe Salazar is working the case and is now Janie’s protector until the culprits are found.

This was such an enjoyable romantic suspense story. I really liked Janie. She worked hard with the police trying to find answers. I also liked that she painted animals, in particular the animals that were at the zoo where her sister worked. She hopes to one day paint wildlife animals in their natural habitat in South Africa. Rafe was a wonderful hero, always very protective of Janie. The secondary characters were great also, including the cops working the case, Janie’s students and fellow teachers at the college, and Janie’s sister and brother-in-law. The story was very suspenseful with a good mystery and it kept me interested and entertained throughout.

A friend sent me this in a box of books. I haven't read the previous two books in the series. This can be read as a stand-alone but I do admit to being lost part of the time as to who was who and how they were related to the Hubrecht family. (Cooper, Timmy, Jesse, Jilly, etc.) At one point, I'd even forgotten Jacob was the father! (The rancher in the series title!). So you might be less confused if you read the previous two entries in the subseries.

What I liked:
-the close knit Hubrecht family
-Donovan's realization of his loneliness and his comparison of the Tates to the Hubrechts and why he felt differently around the two families.
-Emily's passion for Native American history and wanting to preserve it and pass it down.
-The author doesn't feel the need to have an official engagement or wedding at the end of a book where the couple hasn't known each other that long. Yes, they do agree to date and even seem to be agreeing to go steady or be planning a future engagement, but that's not quite the same as an official engagement being announced to others.
-That Donovan is encouraged to reconnect with his parents by his interactions with others in the story. (Not by them telling him to call his parents but by his realizing things by watching what happens to others.)

What I didn't like:
-Donovan and Emily don't really know each other that long (see note under what I like)
-The issue that comes up between them for the Pearl land ends up being dismissed/settled very quickly. Emily is blind-sided by Tucker's purchase of the land she was hoping to get for the museum. She goes off by herself rather than meet Donovan as promised. Yes, perhaps the time to think on the situation did make her realize she was more disappointed than angry, but reading it, it seems like Donovan appears on the scene and she just forgives him. It just all wraps up a bit too quickly.

This was a really sweet read! Loved the characters and the small town setting. Would love to read more about the main characters, Daniel and Amy.

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

As far as I know, this is the first book I've read by this author, and unlike other reviewers, I don't remember seeing any of the characters in other books either.

I liked that Mary tried to keep her son safe. I liked that she told him what was going on rather than keeping it from him (as so many characters in these books seem to do).

I felt bad for Angelina and Alma--first that both became mothers so young and also because both their babies were taken from them.

I never quite got hold of what illegal businesses Mary's family was involved in--money laundering, perhaps. Odd that Mary's inheritance had stipulations where everyone else's did not. Perhaps telling too since as she says, if Eric's had had one, he'd have walked away from it just like he walked away from the family business.

I wondered if Mary found the rest of the antiques that had been taken from her family's cabin. She found the armoire and the table, but there was at least one more mentioned in the book. Also, although she decided to run an antiques business at the site of the former car lot, she didn't seem to have a business plan--she claims to have knowledge, but she never mentioned how she planned to find inventory to sell. She'd have to find it at less than what she could sell it for for her business to work--and I never heard how she intended to do that.

At it's heart, it's basically a well-used plot line. A man finds out he's a father (the woman kept the news of her pregnancy, delivery, and the child from him). The child ends up with the man for whatever reason, and he has to learn to be a father.

I liked the characters. I liked that Jesse was honest in admitting that he was guilty of the crime that he got sent to prison for. I liked that he used the time there to better himself--both in becoming a Christian and in learning some skills such as cooking, upholstery, etc. I liked that he was willing to take on fatherhood of a child who had some issues and rarely flinched at it--he was committed to trying to do what was best for his son.

Eva and her father have an odd relationship. He seems to want the ranch to stay as it was and she wants to make it a destination place. I haven't quite figured out why the other two daughters don't want to be at the ranch. There's a brief snippet about one of the other two daughters but with all of them having names that begin with E it was tough to differentiate the two that weren't big parts of this story.

I didn't like Mitch stirring up trouble just because he wanted Eva and felt Jesse was in his way. Mitch seemed to be a bad influence and while I admire Jacob for trying to help out an old friend, I was surprised he would put so much stock in what Mitch said knowing what Mitch was like.

Sweet Christmas romance between two single parents who meet when their young children get into trouble at school. As they start to work together helping each other out, they begin to fall for each other. Although the ending of the story seemed to wrap up a bit too quickly, this was still a nice heartwarming read with likable characters and the festiveness of the holiday season.

The book starts out slow but quickly picks up. It's a quick and fun read.

There will be no clicking your heels three times to get you home from this whimsical romance, nor will you want this one to ever end. I just finished a great summer novel, Love Finds You in Sunflower, Kansas by Pamela Tracy and it left me with such "ah" moments! This feeling alone is one of the reasons I am so addicted to reading and trust me, you'll want to pick this one up for a great summer book to add to your list.

An unexpected encounter in a cornfield when a car runs out of gas will change the lives of the residents of Bonner Springs, Kansas starting off with Joe Kelly. He's the local town's veterinarian who happens upon a rental car left on the side of the road. What he doesn't expect to find inside is the girl of his dreams and his Christmas wish list all rolled into one, asleep on the back seat.

Seems her GPS got her a bit sidetracked trying to find Sunflower, Kansas which he explains to Annie Jamison is pretty much an abandoned and deserted town. Most of the residents now live in Bonner Springs just outside the town limits of Sunflower. Offering her a lift into town, he learns the reason she is here is to bring her crazy mother back home to Tucson, Arizona. It seems her 53-year-old mother has taken up the notion that she is a private detective after completing some courses at a local community college and is there working on her first case.

However when Joe learns that her mother, Willa is the one his father, Max has hired, he believes that the two women are conspiring to steal from them. Will this be the beginning of a love story or the case of the century to find what is missing from all their lives?

I received Love Finds You in Sunflower, Kansas compliments of Summerside Press for my honest review and I LOVED this one so well, I was sad when I turned the final page. I honestly felt like Pamela Tracy created such believable characters, I didn't want their story to end. From all the lovable encounters they all wind up in, to the search for the lost items, Willa was hired to find, you'll love each and every moment because the story is an unforgettable one. This one rates in my opinion a true 5 out of 5 stars and will be welcomed in my personal library forever. I could see having a series of sequels that come from the characters you'll find in this one!

Very interesting book. Mary came from a mob family and has been on the run for years with her son. Finally her brother calls and tells her she can come home with her son and hopefully social services will not take him away. So she heads home, thankful to not be on the run anymore, but still distrustful.

Mitch Williams is a cop and loves being a cop, but he's on leave at the moment due to a shooting and he's not sure he wants to go back to the job he has.

Mary finds a mexican girl and tries to help her get away only to find that she may be wanted. Enter her neighbor Mitch into the picture and from there on out the suspense starts.

I thought this was a great book with a great element of suspense and two characters who don't really trust anyone, but come to trust each other and God.

Wonderful reading!½