Sharon SalaCritiques

Suspense

Romance

Romance

Heartbeat by Sharon Sala
Jubilee, Kentucky series #3. Contemporary romantic suspense. Can be read as a stand-alone. Some characters from the prior books show up but you don’t need to know them to appreciate this story.
Amalie Lincoln moved to Jubilee, Kentucky after recovering from a car accident. She felt pulled to the small town and mountains after a visit and is opening an Accounting business there. One of her first tasks is to get her computers securely set up. She hires Sean Pope, finding out that he is the hero that saved her from bullies when they were in the third grade together in a different state. No one had ever stood up for her before or after that event and she’s so happy to reconnect with him.
Sean Pope can’t believe that Amalie is back in his life. He’s extremely happy she’s moved to town and soon realizes that Amalie is a bit like his elderly relative with a touch of knowing things.
On the day Amalie moves to Jubilee, a helicopter explodes over the local school and investigators are soon asking questions around the area. She suddenly in the cross hairs of the investigation since she say the explosion and was able to describe it well enough for the police to realize it had to be a bomb.

Coincidence, fate or something else? Amalie feels immediately at home in Jubilee and both the residents and Sean’s family make her feel welcome. But that she saw the helicopter explode and soon finds out she had a direct connection to a person onboard is quite unusual. It’s possible the killer is now after Amelia. Fortunately Sean’s family has the police department covered.
Twists, surprises and connections abound and the mystery unravels with surprises along the way. A little bit of the psychics of past lives and souls meeting again are unconsciously being exposed by Amalie. Sean and his family are very comfortable with that type of thing from generations of his family living in the mountains and surrounding area as well as a touch of it within the family.
Intriguing, with a seemingly destined romance, and found family. An absorbing read that caused a few chills and satisfaction in a happy romance and reunion, as well as a killer brought to justice.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley. I also purchased an audiobook copy to reread it in the future.

Jack Dolan comes to White Mountain to discover where Frank, who was murdered in New York came from. Frank's fingerprints did not match his name, so who is Frank and why was he killed? Jack discovers the owner of the inn, where Frank lived is Isabella who looks just like portrait of her mother which hangs in the inn. Jack learns that the Russian Mafia is involved possibly in Frank's death. How could that be and why?

Shirley and her four sons leave their past behind them and head back to Shirley’s childhood home. Her mother has recently passed and left them her house. It could not have come at a better time. This family has a lot of baggage to escape. It does not take them long to figure out that Jubilee, Kentucky and their family on Pope Mountain is just what the doctor ordered.

Y’all know I very seldom write bad reviews. But this book just was not for me. Now, I am totally in the minority! So, read it for yourself to form your own opinion.

This story is overly dramatic and way too sweet for me. But, this may be partly the narrator’s fault. I have never listened to Traci Odom before and I am not a big fan. She gets squeaky when Shirley would start to cry and there were several other places she got on my nerves.

The plot of this tale is pretty good though. This is what kept me listening. I enjoyed the hunt for the past! Finding the journal and then discovering a long lost grave…entertaining…no doubt!

Like I said before…I am in the minority. You read this book and form your own opinion.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest opinion.

This is book 2 in a series. I didn't read book 1, but I think this works fine as a standalone.
The Pope/Wallace family must flee Arkansas after the patriarch Clyde beat his wife Shirley and was imprisoned. The rest of the family was shunned by the community. But, Shirley gets an inheritance when her mother dies, leaving her property and land on Pope Mountain in Jubilee, KY. Shirley and sons Aaron, Wiley, Sean, and BJ move and establish new lives.
Meanwhile, a man discovers a journal in the Library of Congress which talks of buried Confederate gold in Jubilee. He tries to find it, but shoots a young child accidentally. He goes on the run, fortunately, a woman-Dani-sees him flee, and drop the journal. The journal also hints of another unsolved mystery.
Part suspense, part romance - this is a solid entry into romantic suspense.

There is nothing I love more than a new Sharon Sala novel! I have been reading her books since I was thirteen and was a fan from day one. It took some time to read her entire catalog at that time but once I had, it put me in a constant position of awaiting her next novel. This was absolutely worth the wait and was just an overall stunning book that I can't recommend enough. If you're familiar with Sharon Sala's past novels, you are going to be just as excited as I was to read this one and I promise that you won't be disappointed. If this is your first Sharon Sala novel, well, strap yourself in because you're about to be a fan for life. And I predict that you're going to be going back through and purchasing all of her other novels to devour as well.

This is the second book in her Jubilee, Kentucky series and while there is generally a fear that the second of anything won't be as good as the first, that fear is unnecessary with this one! I promise. There is just as much action, mystery, and romance as ever. So prepare yourself to fall for Aaron and Dani because their relationship is sweet and satisfying. The phrase *chef's kiss* certainly comes to mind when I think about their relationship and the development between them. I also found that it was unpredictable and kept me guessing as the twists and turns popped up throughout the book. The only thing I'm sad about is that I've finished it and now have to wait until she releases the next one! But I strongly recommend it!

Sharon Sala truly has a gift for weaving multiple characters and storylines while still keeping the main plot the center focus of the book. It's a true gift. One that, in many cases, would have me losing interest. But somehow Sharon is able to blend and connect all of the characters. You still get a backstory and you get enough information to know what's going on and where each character is coming from. But it's never just two main characters. There is always more. And then there are the side characters that play more important roles than they would in a typical novel. Sharon finds a way to get every character enough paragraphs on the page to understand who they are and give them just as much depth as any main character.

In this case, the focus is on Cameron and Rusty. But Cameron's sister Rachel is a large part of the novel as well. Along with her husband Louis and their daughter Lily. And then Rusty's family comes into play when Cameron discovers who she is and who her family is. Instead of the girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she's the girl from the rich side of the mountain. There are also a lot of other major players and situations that are guaranteed to have you riveted to the page. But the love story between Cameron and Rusty never stops being one of the primary focuses of the story. It never feels as if it isn't delved into enough or given enough focus. It's a beautiful and unique talent that never fails to have me hooked on a Sharon Sala novel.

One of my favorite tropes is second-chance romance. And while you may not be able to call what Cameron and Rusty had when they first met romance, you can certainly call it hot and steamy. While it seemed like a love at first sight kind of situation, it was really intended to be a one-and-done, never see each other again, don't even know one another's last name kind of situation. So you just knew that when they did inevitably see each other again, the sparks were going to be flying even hotter between them. Because they already knew what it was like to be with the other person and now they've realized they are within reach of each other. So I knew it was going to be passionate and steamy. And it certainly didn't disappoint.

While Cameron's past career in the military was useful when it came to teaming up with Rusty to save his niece, Lily's life, Rusty's current career with the FBI also comes in handy. Especially since they aren't just after kidnappers but human traffickers. Along with dealing with the difficulties of their mountain town and the beliefs so many residents have. Rusty and Cameron have to work hard to not let their dueling community get in the way of their investigation. Or the two of them being together. And it takes every skill the two of them possess, along with the need to work together in order for them to figure out their next move. And bring these human traffickers down!

I really enjoyed this romance. I received this book for free from the author in return for a honest review. I voluntarily chose to review and I've given it a 5* rating. This is not really for the under 18 readers. This was sitting in my TBR pile for a while and I'm glad I finally pulled it out of my pile. This centers around 2 servicemen who were broken when they returned from war duty. These men are changed forever from their experiences. This author touched on those changes and how they relate to others they come home to. This story pulled me in quickly and pulled me along. You might need a hanky before you finished. There are a lot of feels and anguish in the story. I think it was a good ending as well.

A hallmark Sharon Sala story. It is everything you have come to expect from her books—heroic and down-to-earth characters. Sent undercover to find out about human trafficking in a small Kentucky town, Rusty comes face to face with the man she could never forget. One chance meeting years before and both of them were hooked. The relationship started at the beginning and there was no need for a build-up.

The description of Rusty's family in the blurb is a bit misleading. While their attitudes towards the mountain people are fairly accurate, I wouldn't say there was a feud that needed to be overcome. I was expecting some major confrontation with them and there wasn't one.

What a story this was. It’s the story of the Fourth Dimension cult and how the adults involved tried to ruin little girls lives. So much sadness and horror it’s truly unbelievable what some men thought they could get away with. Thankfully a young girl named Jordan stood up to everyone including her father and saved the lives of many.

Rusty and Cameron had a one night stand years ago and Cameron snuck out and went off to the Army. It has been years since they have seen each other but neither one has ever forgotten about the other. Now, life has brought them back together and they refuse to be separated any time soon! But, once again, life is throwing curve balls and they each have to come out of this investigation alive!

This is a bit overly dramatic and I did roll my eyes in places and I honestly believe it was the narrator. I just was not a big fan of Tim Lounibos. For instance, there are places a character cried and I could not understand him during these parts.

That being said…I did love Rusty, Cameron and the dog Ghost. Cameron is definitely a strong character with a soft heart. I fell for him hook, line and sinker. Plus, he owns the best dog in the book world, Ghost! Add in the human trafficking and the who did what to whom and this is a pretty good tale!

Need a thriller with great characters…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Don’t Back Down by Sharon Sala
Jubilee, Kentucky series book 1. Contemporary romantic suspense. Second chance troupe.
Veteran Cameron Pope returns to his home town of Jubilee, KY just in time for he and his trained dog Ghost, to rescue his niece from human traffickers. The FBI gets involved since it wasn’t just one child missing and Rusty Caldwell flies in for some undercover investigation. Having met and fallen into each others arms before, Cam and Rusty reunite and work together to track down all the people involved in the kidnappings.

Compelling and involved, the story moves quickly uncovering one suspect after another while also tying extended family together.

🎧 I listened to an audiobook version narrated by Tim Lounibos. The story and performance is told in third person and flows quickly from romance to suspense and back. I liked the clear emotion and differences for characters you can clearly hear. I think the narrator does a better job as the male character but that’s as expected. The elderly female voices are a bit amusing to me. I found the story intense and gripping as a listener.
I sped the playback to 1.5 as this is my preferred speed that is closest to a midwest conversation.

I received a copy of this from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media.

Its the frumpy librarian niece who meets the small-town bad boy. How can you go wrong?

Would read more of the series

Interesting murder mystery. Dinah McCall/Sharon Sala has become one of my go to authors. I know that her books will at least be a pretty solid read.

This one was more involved with the mystery aspect and the romance while important was sort of "easy" I guess. Well written and the plot made sense. I did figure out the bad guy but not immediately so that was good. Some characters who could have become caricatures instead went in other directions which is always pleasant. Even the secondary characters were very well rounded.

Middle of the road read by SS. This had psychic abilities. Turns out this is a part of a multi author series. I'm interested enough in some of the other characters who obviously have stories that I will search out the other books in the series to see how it all turns out.

This was okay. Because it was a novella it was pretty rushed.

Didn't read the other books in the series but I don't think I really missed anything. This book was certainly not a romance. The separated lovers meet again, have one fight then admit they still love each other. No angst and not much character development. A lot of not very interesting stuff about the old murder and the new murders. I did read the prologue of the first book and I really expected more tension from the killer. I know Sharon Sala can write with more tension. She wrote one of the creepiest villains I have ever read in Torn Apart but this one was lackluster.

And just for my taste I don't particularly enjoy 2nd chance at love stories and that seems to be all she is writing lately.

This was pretty different from Sala's regular style. I expected a romance but while Poppy fell in love it was only one element of this book. I would really consider this more of a drama. There were a lot of characters and nearly everyone got parts in their POV. There were a couple of characters who got a significant page time. Mostly Poppy and her biological father. Frankly I liked him better than her. I did enjoy that he was written as a well rounded character rather than a stereotype of an older man finding his previously unknown child and trying to connect with her. Of course he was only about 36 or 37 and Poppy was his daughter with his childhood sweet heart.

So if you go into it not expecting a traditional romance and you're open to some melodrama, you should enjoy it.

So much better than the first one in this series. Sharon Sala is one of my go to authors, usually penning a solid read. This one was tightly plotted and there were consequences for people's actions I was glad to see. The last one, [b:Next of Kin|12397581|Next of Kin (Rebel Ridge, #1)|Sharon Sala|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1321941722s/12397581.jpg|17378841], had a few problems along that line. You can check out my review if you like.

I enjoyed the romance here although it was not center stage but it was fairly well developed. There was a good balance between the romance portion of the story and the suspense portion. It gave me the warm fuzzies when Quinn called Mariah 'pretty girl' probably because that's what my husband calls me. I felt like their relationship was mutual and evenly balanced and developed well from where they had been as lovers in Afghanistan to the fuller relationship that developed in the book. Quinn was a wonderful hero who did everything he could to help Mariah and show her that he was in it for the long haul.

I particularly enjoyed how strong the heroine was without being a snarky ball buster. She had vulnerabilities that made her sympathetic but she was strong and never TSTL. I loved seeing her save Quinn at the end in a realistic way not in an OTT shoot 'em up scene.
The book was very well written in the way that diverse elements tied together in a big spiral of cause and effect. Things that seemed to have no relation to other things eventually were shown to have a domino effect on character actions and reactions in the story. Like I said, tight plotting.

Looking forward to the next one.

Fun little short story about two people making the best of a drunken Vegas wedding.

So Sharon Sala is moving away from romantic suspense to just suspense. There is a reuniting couple in this but the first time they meet, they settle all their problems etc., so there is no ongoing romance story. The mystery is okay. I felt like there weren't enough potential bad guys to choose from. But on the whole it was enjoyable as long as you weren't expecting a romance.

Another solid book from Sharon Sala. This is the third in a trilogy. Here is the sister's story. Her high school sweetheart who went to prison for killing his father comes home after 18 years to clear his name and find out who really did it. This one like the other two in the series is full of the goings on on Rebel Ridge. There is a lot of unemployment which gives the author plenty of scope for lazy and/or desperate people to get up to all kinds of mischief.

This book works well as a suspense story. We're along for the ride to find out who killed Lincoln's father. SS is particularly adept at making everyone well rounded. Some of the villains are very villainous, some are weak and fall into mischief, some show signs of redemption. A lot of the time in this series I really enjoyed the secondary characters who were teetering on the edge more than the upright and totally righteous hero. Another thing that SS does well is include people from previous books in a natural and effective way. These people are not shoe horned in, but rather are integral to the story.


What you won't get much of here is romance. They were childhood sweethearts who immediately fell back in love. No conflict there at all and in fact very little heat.

This story succeeds best as a illustration of how people in a isolated and insular society become all tangled up together. Add in great characterization and it is totally worth the read. Just don't read it for the romance.