SCATTERED PETALS, by Amanda Cabot

In Scattered Petals, author Amanda Cabot continues her series set in the Texas town of Ladreville. Priscilla Morton and her parents are traveling from Boston to attend the wedding of Clay and Sarah, the couple who were drawn together by the love letters Clay wrote (think Cyrano de Bergerac) in the first book of the Texas Dreams series, Paper Roses.

The opening scenes in Scattered Petals are horrifying. Priscilla came west seeking adventure and instead found pain and heartbreak. When she meets Clay's ranch hand, Zach Webster, she’s so scarred by what has happened to her that she can hardly bear to look at him.

Zach is carrying scars of his own, hidden deep in his heart. How the two of them come to trust and love one another in spite of the mental barriers each has erected forms the basis for this touching story.

In spite of the violent opening, Scattered Petals is a sweet story. Cabot touches on difficult issues in a gentle, redeeming manner. I look forward to reading the third book in the series to learn what happens with Texas Ranger Lawrence Wood.

Special note to my followers—I’ve been gone on a research trip, then returned and left again to celebrate my daughter's birthday. So, no book blogs for too long. Look for the next one within a few days.

SEEING THINGS, by Patti Hill

In Seeing Things, Patti Hill has crafted a memorable novel about multi-generational family issues. The plot centers around seventy-something Birdie Wainwright, an independent woman whose active life is curtailed by the onset of macular degeneration.

When she breaks an ankle due to her faulty vision, Birdie is forced to stay with her son and his ever-so-uptight wife. The bright side to her situation is her grandson, Fletcher, who rapidly becomes her ally in a cold and sterile household.

The back cover description made the story sound like a humorous romp, but I found it to be anything but. The family situations portrayed struck me as painfully real. My heart ached for poor Fletcher, and for Birdie, as she tries to bring love into a family at odds with one another.

On that level, Seeing Things is a compelling story. However, when Hill brought Birdie's hallucinations of Huckleberry Finn into the mix, I had a little trouble relating. I found myself skipping over the Huck portions to read the "real" story. Having said that, though, I’d still recommend Seeing Things. It contains one of the best family dramas I've read in a long time.

I'd love to hear from other readers as to their opinions about the "Huck parts." –Maybe it’s just me.

HUNTER'S MOON, by Don Hoesel

Hunter's Moon is a near-perfect story of a family hiding a dark past. Hoesel's hero, CJ Baxter, is a bestselling novelist, so as an author I especially enjoyed reading this book. CJ's ups and downs with his agent, critics, and sales numbers added an extra dimension to an already enjoyable plot.

The story opens with CJ leaving his home in Tennessee to travel to New York state to visit his dying grandfather. He leaves behind a fractured marriage and a lawsuit brought against him by a critic he assaulted. Once he reaches the family mansion overlooking his hometown, his return after seventeen years is met with barely veiled hostility.

CJ knows something that his brother, Graham, and their father have kept hidden since CJ was a boy. Graham is running for the Senate and isn't eager to have the family black sheep dig into family secrets. As the plot unfolds, we see how far the Baxter clan will go to hide those secrets.

In Hunter's Moon, Hoesel has given us a look at a believable protagonist—a man with flaws, doubts, and the courage to face his past. I look forward to reading more from this author.