Book Notes: May 4, 2022 - Inspirational, Historical Romance Collections

 Welcome back for another round of book reviews! Today I wanted to share my thoughts on a couple of inspirational historical romance collections which I managed to snag either for free or at a discounted price. Both of them had some pretty good points which helped me give them four-star ratings, but I'll stop there. Let me go straight to the reviews.

Book Review: Texas Frontier Brides by Mary L. Briggs

Texas Frontier Brides by Mary L. Briggs
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Very Good Stories

I really enjoyed reading the first three stories in this collection. Each plot was unique, though there were some similarities, as one might expect. The characters were varied and held my interest. The only glaring mistake I found was a single misspelling, used in two places. The last story left me wishing there had been more depth to it. I did like the plot twist, though, as well as the clever proposal.
If you enjoy clean, inspirational, historical romance, then you might want to give this collection a try.

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The cover of this one had me wondering whether the stories would actually measure up to my standards. I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. As good as they were, though, they weren't quite 5-star great. Perfect for just an evening of relaxing reading, but I probably won't be re-reading them any time soon. 

Book Review: Westward Wanderers: The Complete Trilogy by Angela Castillo

Westward Wanderers: The Complete Trilogy by Angela Castillo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great Stories, But...

These stories were great! But there were some glaring typos and a few inconsistencies to deal with. They are the sole reason I took off a star. Otherwise, I enjoyed each of the books. The characters were well crafted. The plots were interesting. It was easy for me to really get into the story.
If you enjoy inspirational, historical romance, then you might want to try this.

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This would've been a 4.75-star book if it wasn't for the glaring typos. That's going to really annoy some readers. I pushed past them and enjoyed the plots and characters. I had read the second book in the past, almost certain I posted a review on that one. The first story was very sweet with only a hint of trials for the MCs. The second story is similar if I remember correctly. The third story, however, was deeper, or perhaps more rich in the content. I felt like I got to know the characters a bit better. Their situations were plausible. I absolutely love the fact that Iris loved climbing trees. 

I used to be a tree-climber myself, up into my teenage years. But I'm a bug hater, so one bad experience with that had me climbing trees less and less. My oldest daughter is a tree-climber, too, even though she's in her 20s now. I hate that too many parents say no to kids climbing trees. For me and mine, that was just a part of living the country life. So meeting a characters in her 20s who finds solace in the treetops was a pleasant experience which also made her more relatable to me.

Both these collections have a faith element which is noticeable. The second collection did a better job of presenting the characters as living out their faith and calling on God for help in trouble and for guidance, especially in the second and third stories. 

I hope you see something you'd like to add to your TBR list. If you do, please let me know what you thought about these in the comments below. On Friday, I'll be sharing more about my writing journey. Hope you'll stop by again!

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