198 pages

Published September 3, 2023

ISBN: 978-0645856613

Heart in the Clouds is Jennifer Mistmorgan’s debut novel, and at the risk of sounding cliché, she hit it out of the park. Her writing is evocative, and I was immersed in the era from the first sentence. Descriptions were sprinkled, not poured into the story and I was able to hear, see, and smell what it was like to work at an airfield on the ground and in the planes. The author has obviously done her research and is quite knowledgeable of the era and military bases of the time. For example, she’s fully versed in the slang of the pilots, who refer to their planes as kites and the channel as “the drink.”

There were lots of characters, but each one was unique to so there was no confusion about who was who, with secondary and minor characters being fully developed. Internal dialogue got me into the characters’ heads and even though they were dealing with life and death issues, the story didn’t get maudlin. I enjoyed Alec’s journey from a cocky, reckless pilot to a confident integrity-filled man. His journey is littered with fits and starts, but he’s highly intelligent, and he begins to put the pieces together about God, His love, and His sovereignty. I loved his interactions with the vicar, a friend of Maggie’s, and who Alec thinks might be a competitor for her affections.

Maggie is delightful as she matures and comes into her own. As one of two daughters of a vicar, she has been somewhat sheltered her whole life. Then her mother dies, and her father is thrown into despair leaving Maggie to be somewhat in charge. He is angry that she joins the WAAFs, but she feels called to serve somewhere in the war. Having been “dumped” by a pilot, she is wary of all pilots, which is challenging since she’s surrounded by them on the airbase. I loved Jonty, a pilot she’d saved from his burning plane in the past. He helps her see she can’t lump all pilots together as being arrogant and out to get what they can from women.

As an author of WWII fiction, I’ve done my fair share of study and research, yet I did learn several things. As an American, I enjoyed seeing the war from another viewpoint, and it was fun to watch British Maggie interact with Australian Alec.

The only disappointment was the five or so instances of profanity. The words did nothing to further the plot or character development, and I prefer my Christian fiction to be void of such words. Despite this, the book is a worthwhile read.

Book Blurb:

He’s a charismatic Australian bomber pilot used to beating the odds.
She’s the radio operator he speaks to each night before he flies.
He makes a bet that he can steal a kiss….and ends up getting much more than he bargained for.

RAF Bottesford, November 1942:

Maggie Morrison joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force for a free ticket into the romance she craved, away from her sleepy life as a vicar’s daughter. But the men of Bomber Command are careless with the hearts of women. She hides the pain of her broken heart and mother’s sudden death behind calm confidence on the airfield radio, as the last voice men hear before they fly into danger.

Australian pilot Alec Thomas is a gambling man on a winning streak. Every night when he flies with RAF Bomber Command, the odds of surviving are fifty-fifty. And every night so far, he’s made it back to English soil. But as the battles over Europe intensify, Alec’s luck feels less certain.

When Alec bets with his crew he can get Maggie to kiss him before the year is out, he has no idea it’s the most important wager he’ll ever make. But pursuing her leads Alec to reexamine everything he believes about his so-called luck, prompting him to question what—or who—is behind it all. Even if Alec can win his bet, can his risk-taking ways win her heart? Or will his luck in the brutal air war over Europe run out before their first kiss?

162 pages

Published August 22, 2023

ISBN 979-8860467682

Heather Blanton’s books are page-turners, and I better not start one late in the afternoon or I’m going to lose sleep. Fortunately, for The Vaquero’s Heart, I had an entire day and set aside chores to hunker down on the couch and lose myself in the story. The book is part of the Burning Dress Ranch series but is easily read as a stand-alone (other than making me want to go back and read the others.)

Pearl, the female protagonist, is a horse thief through no choice of her own. Her father is cruel and heavy-handed, and unmarried women in the 1800s had few options, so Pearl is stuck. A chance to escape occurs and through a series of events, she ends up at the Burning Dress Ranch. What Pearl doesn’t realize is that the owner’s purpose is to take in women who are hurting in some way, and then teach them a skill through which they can earn a living. Miss Sally also shares the love of God with them to help them heal. Miss Sally is a force to be reckoned with and has her own baggage to deal with. I love how she treats her staff and the girls she’s housing.

Pearl meets her match with the head wrangler at the ranch, Rodrigo Garcia. A widower with a young son, he can spot a liar a mile away, so he immediately knows Pearl is hiding something. He makes it his mission to find out what.  The author does a wonderful job of getting readers into the characters’ heads and hearts discovering their flaws and vulnerabilities. I enjoyed learning about the role the Latinos played in the cowboy culture.

The Spanish influence in ranching and the Old West began before there was an Old West. Spanish rancheros filled the Southwest landscape with horses, cattle, and sheep by the mid—1600s. Hispanic contributions to cowboy culture did not end with the introduction of the horse, as evidenced by the terminology. Vaquero is the Spanish word for cowboy. Bronco, the English spelling of broncho is Mexican Spanish for wild or rough. A lariat is la reata, “the lasso,” from the Spanish word reatar which means to tie together.

My heart broke for both Rodrigo and Pearl as they tried to deal with the difficulties in their lives and navigate the unwanted feelings they had. Rodrigo’s son is delightful, precocious but not obnoxious, and he acts as the bridge between his father and Pearl. A beautiful story of redemption.

Book Blurb:

She wants to steal horses…but at Burning Dress Ranch, only hearts are stolen.

On the run from the law, daring horsethief Pearl Pickett stumbles upon the enigmatic Burning Dress Ranch and its mysterious owner, Miss Sally. Sensing something is amiss with the newcomer, Miss Sally asks Pearl to work with a captivating herd of Arabian horses. Pearl’s sole desire is to lay low for a while, but the allure of these stunning creatures proves irresistible.

Ranch wrangler Rodrigo Garcia is a widower with a young son. Brooding and surly, he’s not happy about taking on a know-it-all female as an assistant. But the sassy woman knows horses, even though she initially tries to hide it. As the two work together, Rodrigo can’t help but soften a little, particularly when he witnesses the bond she is forming with his son, Miguel.

Still, it is a shocking revelation when he realizes Pearl is stealing his heart.

But that may not be all she’s out to steal…