Bethany House Blog Tour: A Match Made in Texas

Authors: Karen Witemeyer, Mary Connealy, Regina Jennings, Carol Cox

Genre: Romance

Series: A Novella Collection

My rating on a 1-10 scale: I’m going to rate each novella individually

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 379

Time period: 1800s

Publisher and price: Bethany House, $14.99

My overall opinion: This, as you have probably deduced by now, is a novella collection. Four short stories by four wonderful authors! I decided the simplest way to review this was to do each novella individually, so here we go.

A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer – 9: The first words that came to mind as I considered how to best describe this book were sweet, funny, creative, and romantic! I loved seeing a character from some of Karen’s previous books. This book was so enjoyable! A delight.

An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings – 8: Even the title in this one is a play on words, since the heroine is partially blind! The characters were engaging and the story was unique and enjoyable. Especially the hero was admirable.

No Match for Love by Carol Cox – 8.5: There was some great mystery in this, masterfully presented for such a short story! It was a refreshing addition to the romance. The characters were especially lovable here.

Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy – 9: I really loved the humor in this one! Definitely a unique story and unique characters. It made me laugh, and I always love that! Quite a superb book. So good!

All in all? This is a unique and delightful collection of short romances by wonderful authors. If you’re already a fan of one (or more) of these authors, I think you’ll definitely enjoy this collection!

**Bethany House sent me a free copy of this book in return for my honest review. I wasn’t required to review it positively, nor was I recompensed for my review. All opinions are my own. **

Further Chronicles of Avonlea

Author: L. M. Montgomery

Genre: Life, romance, adventure, short stories

Series: It's the sequel to Chronicles of Avonlea.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 199

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: Variety of main characters!

Passage from book: Max always blesses the animal when it is referred to; and I don't deny that things have worked together for good after all. But when I think of the anguish of mind which Ismay and I underwent on account of that abominable cat, it is not a blessing that arises uppermost in my thoughts.

My overall opinion: :) That was a fun story. I enjoyed this book even more than the first one...it had some laugh-out-loud stories in it! Highly recommended. :)

Chronicles of Avonlea

Author: L. M. Montgomery

Genre: Life, short stories

Series: The sequel is Further Chronicles of Avonlea, but it's not imperative to read them even in order. Oh, and they're kinda...more stories about the people you meet (and some you don't) in Anne of Green Gables and its seven sequels.

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 183

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: It's a variety of short stories. You do see Anne Shirley a few times.

Exciting events: The book is full of humorous and sweet stories.

Passage from book: Anne Shirley was curled up on the window seat of Theodora Dix's sitting-room one Saturday evening, looking dreamily afar at some fair starland beyond the hills of sunset. Anne was visiting for a fortnight of her vacation at Echo Lodge, where Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Irving were spending the summer, and she often ran over to the old Dix homestead to chat for awhile with Theodora. They had had their chat out, on this particular evening, and Anne was giving herself over to the delight of building an air-castle.

My overall opinion: It was a very fun book, and worth buying. :) You can get it cheaply on Amazon, FYI. Fun to hear more about the people Anne knew!

The Lost Stories of Louisa May Alcott

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Genre: Short stories, romance

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 162

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: Depends on the story

Exciting events: Also depends on the story

My overall opinion: I read somewhere on the book that these are the type of stories that "Jo March is described as writing." It's quite true. Some are tragedies, usual tragic love stories. You get the idea. They were... weird. But good. Some I enjoyed, some not. Overall, recommended, but not a must-read.

Bowdrie's Law

Author: Louis L'Amour

Genre: Western

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 8.5

Type: Fiction, short stories

Number of pages: 214

Time period: 1800's

Main characters: Chick Bowdrie

Exciting events: Gun fights, fist fights, etc.

Passage from book: The heavy rifle leaped in his hands, firing right into the false front of the building. A pistol bullet would penetrate several inches of pine at that distance, and the .56 caliber Spencer would not be impeded by the half-inch boards on the front opposite.

My overall opinion: Mmm...this was a good one. A collection of short stories, featuring Chick Bowdrie.