Karen Wiesner

Riley, much younger than her husband Blaze, is an ambitious woman who’s used to getting what she wants. She’s worked hard to advance her career as a flight attendant—now situated in Minnesota--sometimes to the detriment of her marriage to a cop who still lives in their small hometown of Peaceful, Wisconsin. When she finds out that someone she’d befriended in the Human Resources Department of the airline she works for has fudged her resume in order to advance her over more qualified attendants, everything changes. Though initially Riley comes off as a bit spoiled, she does a lot of growing in this story. I love that Blaze is her solid rock from start to finish, though he’s by no means a wimp. These two go head-to-head often, but it’s part of their magic. This is a swoon-worthy romance for the modern couple.… (mer)

In UNLUCKY IN LOVE, Tally (the heroine in BLAME IT ON THE RAIN, Book 10) remained a good friend despite that Layla did her brother Benji (hero in NEVER A BRIDE, Book 11) wrong in the past. Layla started out believing she was the catch of the county, determined to reclaim the man she wanted to be the one for her. Facing that it was too late might have been the hardest thing she’s ever done except that right now she needs to learn how to put aside her own selfishness and figure out what matters in life. In Book 10, Adam was anything but a hero, but, in Book 12, he’s been through a lot and come out the other side, painfully aware of his unforgivable mistakes in the past. He’s no longer the same jerk who loved Tally and cheated on her as if that wasn’t a conflict. In the process of changing his ways, his feelings have also taken a 180. Returning to the place where his bad deeds blew up in his face is an eye-opener as nothing else could be. In this tale of redemption, two former villains discover that the road to recovery is a long, life-altering one, just as ever finding happiness…and love…again will be.… (mer)

Jon had 14 years to harbor fury toward his father after he threw him out of the house when he was just a teenager over a situation with Jon’s troublesome girlfriend Jessie. As a doctor, his old man worked endless hours that had driven Jon’s mother to irreversible actions, devastating them all and causing Jon to be raised by the housekeeper. Jon’s bitter sense of betrayal is justifiable. It was hard to see a young family torn apart like that.

“Tracey is easy to love. She organizes the mess in the office of Jon, Rod, and Blackie’s business and shares a house with Jon and Blackie, cooking for them and generally mothering them. She’s not a fan of Jon’s on-again, off-again girlfriend Jessie and truthfully any romantic notions she’s had over Jon have been squashed because of the selfish vixen he can’t seem to say no to, even when he should.

“I wept over Jon and Tracie’s seemingly impossible predicaments that would take a miracle to sort out. Get out the tissues for this one. You’ll need them.… (mer)