Patricia PotterCritiques

Scotland was hellish for Jacobite families after the battle of Culloden Moor. The Duke of Cumberland ordered his soldiers to slaughter every man, woman and child whose family had fought against the English crown. It was awful and it really happened in history.


This story begins as the battle is ending. Rory Forbes had answered his father's call to arms and fought against the Jacobites. The battle was over in moments but instead of taking prisoners, Cumberland ordered that they kill everyone. Rory walked away while his father and brother yelled at him.


Rory pretends to be a flamboyant philanderer who likes to drink and gamble. His father and brother died in the weeks following Culloden Moor which left him as the unexpected marquis and lord of his clan. He ignores his responsibility and let's his cousin run everything.


He has a secret life. He is the Black Knave who helps Jacobites by getting them out of the country.


But Cumberland has ordered that he marry a daughter of a Jacobite. He can't figure out why Cumberland or the king would care what happens to a Jacobite but knows his reputation as doing anything for money and being biddable is why he was chosen but a wife will make it hard to live his secret life.


The Black Knave's adventures were what made this book. The romance was weak and intimate scenes were ruined by too much introspection. Anyone who reads my reviews knows I hate when authors have characters go on and on with their inner thoughts, especially when they repeat these thoughts over and over. It annoys me so I just start skipping over paragraphs.


It was a good story and I'm getting ready to read the second book in the trilogy.

Neil Forbes is the new Marquis of Braemoor after the staged death of his cousin. Neil hadn't liked his cousin until shortly before he left Scotland and faked his own death. He had thought he was an uncaring womanizing gambler but in truth he had a secret life. He was the Black Knave, a man who smuggled Jacobites out of Scotland because the English were hunting and killing them.


Neil had always worked hard and dedicated himself to Braemoor. He was born a bastard but his uncle had come for him when he was a child to serve as his son's companion. He learned that he was nothing more than a servant when he fell in love with a lady but his uncle scoffed at him and told him he can't marry because nobody wants to marry a bastard, especially one whose mother was crazy. He told Neil madness ran in his mother's family. As a result, he broke up with Janet via a note that said her dowry wasn't large enough.

Janet had loved Neil with all her heart but his cruel breakup letter had changed that. She waited many years before marrying. She only did marry because Alasdair Campbell seemed charming and she fell in love with his three little girls. But Alasdair was a monster. He beat her and the girls. Janet gave him a son but he was still horrible.

When Alasdair suddenly dies, his family accuses her of murdering her and tries to take over guardianship of her son, the heir to Lochaene. She only has one person to turn to, Neil Forbes.

At first, I wasn't sure if I liked Neil. I thought he was kind of boring but then I realized he was exactly the kind of man I like. I love the quiet tortured types.

I did not like Janet. I know she was a good mother but she was so ungrateful and so bitter that I just couldn't stand her.

This was a good story but there was just too much of it. There was too much introspection and it moved too slowly to keep my attention. I took a lot of breaks from reading it.

I'm going to read the last book because the story is interesting. It is just has too much filler.

The historical timeline and events were excellently done in this book and the entire trilogy. I gobbled that part up. I even enjoyed the romance in this last book more than the others but there were things that annoyed the hell out of me.

Nothing ruins a romantic moment more than too much introspection and repeated thoughts. Who has all those thoughts while in the heat of the moment? And FYI authors, we readers get the gist of things like worries and trepidations the first time you have the character think them. You don't have to pound it into our heads by repeatedly writing it over and over. It just makes me want to throw the book.

I also think the story could have been shortened. I think sometimes it just gets monotonous to have to go through every detail of every adventure. I think the actual romance suffered because of this.

Despite my complaints, I did enjoy the book.

Terrific book. It's time for a new veteran to experience the healing effects of Covenant Falls. This time it's army nurse Andy Stuart. She is an army nurse who survived an attack that killed her doctor fiancé and others in her unit. She suffered injuries that have made it impossible to continue in her career, and memories of the attack that give her no peace. Upon the recommendation of her doctor, she accepts a therapy dog and use of the cabin in Covenant Falls until she decides what to do with her future. The first person she meets is Nate Rowland, fellow veteran and resident of Covenant Falls. He's committed to helping fellow veterans, but Andy gets to him like no one else ever has.

I loved the slow and gentle progression of their romance. There is attraction between them from the beginning, but neither wants a relationship. Andy is still grieving the loss of her fiancé, and the thought of wanting someone else feels like a betrayal of Jared's memory. Besides, who would want someone as damaged as she is, physically and mentally? Nate is right there with her. He's been burned once, surviving a marriage that shattered his trust in his own judgement and in relationships in general. I loved seeing Nate draw Andy out of her isolation and into the life of Covenant Falls. I loved his sensitivity and compassion when she suffered a flashback, and how he helped her through it. Andy has her own effect on Nate, as the pain of his ex-wife's betrayal is overcome by his growing feelings for Andy. I especially loved Nate's patience, as he lets Andy know that he won't push her for more than she is ready to give, but he also doesn't hold back on showing her how he feels. There are some really emotional scenes as each of them shares their pain with the other. I loved the ending, as Andy realizes that her heart has found a home.

Once again, I loved seeing the people of Covenant Falls take another veteran to their hearts. I loved Eve's instinctive matching of Andy with the perfect project, using her love of history to draw her into helping to promote the town. It was fun to see Andy's acceptance of the challenge, and how it expanded past everything they could have imagined. I loved how she drew Al and his wife into it, helping to heal the rift between him and the town. I really liked how the other veterans provided support for each other, with as little or as much as was wanted. I enjoyed Andy's introduction to the "support group", and how her first meeting there went. It was so much fun to see the entire town get involved in the project (camels!), and Andy's amazement at how much she enjoyed it. I loved the surprise at the end and what it meant for Andy's future.

Good story of healing, not just for Jubal but also for Lisa, Gordon and Kerry. Jubal is a former SEAL who is dealing with the loss of his career and the memories it has left him with. He had been on a mission in Africa with his team when they were killed and he was captured. He spent two years in captivity, being beaten and tortured. When he finally got away he had too much physical and mental damage to be able to continue as a SEAL. At loose ends, he accepts the invitation of his friend Clint to visit him in Covenant Falls. He only plans to stay a few days before moving on. But early in his visit he catches a teenage boy trying to set fire to his dock. Seeing a lot of himself in Gordon, he wants to steer Gordon in a better direction.

Lisa is a doctor in Chicago, completing her residency. Her father had passed away several years earlier and her mother more recently, leaving Lisa as guardian of her younger brother and sister. Neither kid has dealt well with their loss, and Gordon has been getting into more and more trouble. When he's arrested for joyriding in a stolen car that also contains drugs, Lisa knows she has to take desperate measures. She accepts an offer as a replacement doctor in Covenant Falls and moves there with her siblings.

I loved Jubal. I ached for him and the pain he is in, for how lost he feels without the career he's had for twenty years. Thanks to his captivity, he has become quite a loner, avoiding crowds and people whenever he can. He's a little freaked out by the changes he sees in his friend Clint, who he remembers as a hell-raiser, and who is now married and the chief of police. He doesn't plan to stay long, but he quickly gets sucked into small town life. I loved seeing how easily he connected with Gordon and the straightforward way he treated him. He felt badly about not telling Lisa about Gordon's actions, but he also knew that Gordon needed to trust him.

I also really liked Lisa. She loves her siblings and gives up her plans for her own future to do what is best for them. I ached for her guilty feelings over Gordon's issues. I enjoyed seeing how quickly she settled into small town life, especially since she's only lived in the city before that.

I liked seeing the relationship develop between Lisa and Jubal. They are attracted to each other right away, but neither is looking for a relationship. Jubal isn't planning to stay for more than a few days, and with his issues from his captivity he doesn't feel that he's a good bet anyway. Lisa also only plans to stay a year or so and is more interested in giving her siblings a steady home life than in finding someone for herself. She also worries about Jubal being ex-military, as she equates that with the same sort of violence she saw in the city emergency room. She also is concerned about what kind of influence that would have on Gordon. However, they can't deny their fascination with each other. I loved seeing Lisa's attitude toward Jubal change as she got to know him and see the man behind the hardened exterior. She tried hard to keep herself from falling for someone who was going to leave, just as Jubal kept trying to convince himself that he wasn't going to stay. I loved seeing each of them setting down roots without realizing it until they were well and firmly planted. They also discovered that those roots were intertwined. I loved seeing them come together at the end and realize that they were both exactly where they were supposed to be.

I really liked how Jubal's healing was partly tangled up in his efforts to help Gordon. He recognized that Gordon was much like him at that age and was sure that he could help. It was fantastic to see how the two connected and that Jubal was able to get through to Gordon. I also loved seeing Jubal get involved in taking care of Luke's horses, and how that also began to soothe his pain. It was great to see Jubal start thinking about his future instead of just drifting from day to day.

Good story of love and healing. Josh came to Covenant Falls after he inherited a cabin from a fellow soldier who was killed in Afghanistan. Josh also has custody of his friend's military working dog, who is grieving too. Since he has no idea what to do with himself now that he's out of the army, Josh decides to stay and fix up the cabin while he thinks about the future.

Josh had had no idea what moving to a small town would be like. All he wants is to be left alone, to deal with his injuries and his nightmares in his own way. When he's awakened from a nightmare by yet another person stopping by to welcome him, he is less than gracious. He decides the best thing he can do is finish the repairs, sell and get away someplace where he can be alone.

Rumors about the new resident have Eve Douglas, mayor of the town, stopping by to check him out for herself. She is a widow with a ten year old son and plenty of responsibilities. But there's something about Josh that she can't resist, and it's not just the physical attraction.

I liked both Eve and Josh. Josh is hurting from the loss of his friend and most of his team. He's also worried about his dog, Amos, who doesn't seem to be getting any better. His visit from Eve was something of a wakeup call, making him realize that he has been behaving very badly. I loved watching him start to make amends - his visit with Mrs. Byars was very sweet. Another thing that woke up were feelings that he hadn't had in quite awhile, but Eve was not the right person to have them for. He doesn't do relationships, especially now when he's so messed up. But there's something about Eve and her entire family that soothes his soul and fills a void, and he finds himself wishing that things could be different.

Eve is also still hurting from the death of her husband. She's made a good life for her and her son and that's enough for her, until Josh awakens feelings that have been buried for a long time. In spite of her reluctance to get involved, she can't help but want to help him through his pain. I loved seeing her encourage him to get involved, but also give him the space he needs when he starts feeling overwhelmed. I really liked seeing her overcome her fear of risking her heart again as she and Josh get closer together.

I really liked the inclusion of Amos, Josh's dog. It was a good way to show how important the working dogs are to the military, and that they are also living creatures who suffer too. I loved Josh's determination to help Amos, and how much it hurt him to see the dog's unhappiness. I loved Eve's son's part in Amos's healing, and how it seemed to parallel Josh's own recovery.

Eve's son Nick is also a great character. He's a pretty realistic kid of his age, with his own challenges. I loved his interactions with Josh, especially the one where he visited Josh without telling his mom. His actions were typical, but he also understood his wrongdoing when it was pointed out. There's a pretty intense section dealing with Nick, a rattler and Amos, that serves to bring Josh and Eve closer together.

The concurrent story of Eve's battle with a member of the town council was really good, It was easy to see that Eve had the best interests of the town at heart. The rash of robberies were very worrying, especially with the current police chief wanting to retire and a less than qualified applicant wanting the job. Eve's worry over Josh being blamed was justified, especially when that one deputy was really pushing his guilt. I thought Josh handled things very well, especially when things went really bad at the end.

The ending was quite satisfying and felt very real. While neither Josh nor Amos were completely healed, they were well on the way. I'd like to see more books in Covenant Falls so we can follow up on the town and its occupants.

I read this concurrently with The Jekyll Island Club by Tyler Bagwell because most of the book takes place on Jekyll Island, one part in 1942 during the Club's last, abbreviated, season and the rest during 1963. Technically, this is a reread but it's been twenty+ years so mainly I only remembered liking it because I really liked the location, having visited the island a number of times in the eighties when it was definitely recognizable as the place Ms. Potter is describing.

The novel opens with Meara and her daughter attending the funeral of Sanders Evans, their husband and father. Her thoughts go back to the season on Jekyll of 1942 and her first meetings with Sanders and Michael. Meara had come to the island for several years with the Connors to look after their two children. Mr. Connors was a member of the Club and owned one of the Cottages and the two men were guests at the Clubhouse. Meara fell headlong into love with Michael with the intensity of first love only to be betrayed. Fast forward to 1963 and the consequences of that first love are still playing out. But being romantic suspense one can guess how it will end. The journey is the thing...

While I loved the descriptions of the island this time as much as before, I did tend to skim over some of Meara's obsessing over Michael in 1942 and her later "please don't let Lisa make the same mistake" thoughts in 1963. That said, it's an OK romantic suspense novel for one written around 1990 and the author managed to make her story reasonably plausible.

I always enjoy stories from Lynn Kurland, and the other three stories from other authors were pretty good as well. A nice, quick, light read.

This book has a mixture of stories from different authors. I had read a book prior by Lynn Kurland and loved it, so I thought I give this a try. I liked the time travel and historical fiction, so this was a perfect book for me. It also gives you a taste for other authors. Stories are mostly set in the 1300s. For short reads about knights of old, this book would be for you.

Not bad. Robin Stuart, girl reporter, stumbles onto a huge case. Refusing to give up her source, she catches the eyes of the bad guy and a sexy FBI agent who has a dislike for reporters.

Meh. Mindless, good beach read.½

Loved it. Kept my interest the whole way thru. Good pacing. Well developed characters. Two love stories.

Kira Douglas life is perfect she is reporter for the Atlanta Observer and a mother that she loves more than life. Then her mother is diagnosed with Renal Failure and get added to the donor list. After much determination she is tested as a compatible donor againist her mothers wishes. What she finds is that she is not only not a possible donor, but she is also not Kady Douglas's biological daughter.

Kira sets out on a mission to find her mothers biological daughter, which leads her straight to Max Payton and Leigh Westerfield some of the most promenient family in town.

Now Kira is faced with the task of finding her mothers biological daughter. Only the man that can help may also be the man with a bullet.

This was my first introduction to Patricia Potter's writing. This book packed a punch and was uniquly written. The conclusion of this book was wonderful, I felt that Potter wrapped everything up nice and tidy in the end. I look for to reading more novels in the future from this author.½

The heroine's mother is missing--turns out she's been arrested for a murder that took place over 30 years ago. And now somebody's after the heroine, and there are secrets on top of secrets. Nice twists, and a concealed identity that didn't irritate me.½

Reviewed for queuemyreview.com; book release Dec08

Romance and action steeped in suspense. “Behind the Shadows” by Patricia Potter kept me engrossed from the first chapter. In addition to the romance theme, this book also highlights today’s desperate need for organ donors. I also found myself pondering some interesting observations about what makes a parent, and what, if anything, would a child ‘owe’ a parent they never knew about?

Reporter Kira is frantic to save her mother’s life. It’s always been just the two of them and now with her mother’s kidneys failing, Kira is determined to donate one of her own to save the life of the woman who sacrificed so much and loved her all her life. When the doctor says Kira is not a match, she’s heartbroken. When he adds that she’s not even her mother’s biological daughter, Kira is livid. The hospital made a mistake…obviously. She and her mother have often discussed a newborn Kira’s fight for life after a difficult delivery. But the only ‘mistake’ apparently happened thirty-two years ago. Now Kira is determined to find out what happened to her mother’s baby. If she can find that baby, she will cajole, threaten, or beg to get a kidney for her mother.

Max is the successful corporate attorney and trust manager for Leigh, the sole heiress to the Westerfield fortune. When he meets Kira he feels a strong attraction. When Kira claims that she was switched as a baby with Leigh, Max is furious. Just another money-seeker! But when it appears Kira’s claims may be true, Max is torn. Leigh is like a sister to him, but he is drawn to Kira. Whose ‘interests’ does he represent--the apparent heir? The rightful heir? The woman he thinks of as a sister? The woman he’s coming to love? And when Kira is attacked, robbed, and shot within the space of three days, Max’s worries and loyalties will be tested like never before.

I can’t begin to tell you what a whirlwind of action this book contains. From the first page, there are mysteries within mysteries to solve. The story unfolds slowly at first and then seems to pick up speed with every chapter. I was impressed with how the author advanced the problem of organ donation without ‘preaching’ to the reader. The urgency and need is emphasized by every action the heroine takes, but we’re not beaten over the head with the issue.

I also found myself thinking about what I would, or would not, do if I were in the situation of any of the characters: the daughter, the biological daughter, and the lawyer/family friend. Tough questions which made me remember how blessed I am that I don’t have to face this in reality. Speaking of characters, the secondary cast was excellent! Almost every character introduced had real impact on advancing the plot. Patricia Potter’s “Behind the Shadows” was a heart-pounding read. And if everything came out a little ‘too’ neat and happy at the end? Well…this IS a romance after all.

Slightly above average romantic suspense centering on paramedic Kirke Palmer who gets caught up in danger when she accepts an envelope from a dying patient. The story telling is good but a bit short on spark between the main protagonists.

Cat Hilliard owns a very successful, very upscale saloon. She will do just about anything to stay on top. Marsh Canton wins the saloon next door in a card game and had decided to give up his former occupation as a hired gun.

Cat is willing to pull out all the stops in order to stop Marsh from success and he is willing to try just about anything to stop her. Their game of one-upmanship is very funny but underneath it, Cat is a woman with secrets. She is a fabulously strong heroine and if you’re a lover of the Western, this is one you really should read! Heck, even if you’re not a Western lover, this is still a Very Good Book.½

pb

5 star read! A collection of sweet short stories. Recommended to historical romance fans.

awsome story! in this a girl leaves her home to get away from a stubborn father. she then also discovers her true love....... and the story ends with a happy ending when their child is born.
full of suspense , drama , love..............
loved it.