Helen R. Myers

Much better book than I thought it would be at the beginning, because Noah really ticked me off. But he redeemed himself quite nicely. Rylie is a sweetheart and has been a bright addition to the vet clinic. She has a soothing way with both animals and people - except for Noah Prescott. Noah has been stuck bringing his mom's dog to Rylie for grooming a couple times and he hasn't been happy about it. There's something about Rylie's perkiness that bugs him.

I loved Rylie. You know right away show more that her cheerfulness is a way of dealing with something else. She had been a veterinary student who had quit during her last year to become a dog groomer. She moved to Sweet Springs to be near her uncle, one of the old guys who hangs around the vet clinic. She plans to get her vet tech license so that she can be of more help at the clinic when she's not grooming dogs. I loved seeing her deal with the old guys and also the various animals she comes into contact with. I also enjoyed the way that she didn't take Noah too seriously. She could see that he was super serious and tried to lighten things up with him, but he wasn't cooperating. She was also attracted to him but felt that he was way out of her league and was determined to ignore it.

Noah is a very serious guy. He returned to his hometown after his father's death and mother's injury in an automobile accident. Now he works as an ADA and sees a lot of the worst parts of people. His encounters with Rylie have him feeling very off-center. He's attracted to her and doesn't want to be. He feels that her constant cheerfulness has got to be an act and that she is hiding something. So he takes steps to find out what she is hiding and when he finds something that proves his suspicions he acts on it, hurting and humiliating her. And when he gets "the rest of the story" he is ashamed of himself and admits that he was trying to protect himself from the feelings he is beginning to experience. I loved everyone's reactions and how much they supported Rylie. I also enjoyed seeing their reactions to Noah and what he did, especially that of his mother.

Now that Noah has admitted to himself that he wants to get to know Rylie better, he has to figure out how to get back in her good graces. I loved seeing his attempts at grovelling and all the help he got from Brooke. Once he gets over himself, he turns out to be a really nice guy. It was great to see him get more involved in Riley's world and start to see things from her perspective. At the same time, Rylie is really enjoying her time with Noah. She knows she's falling for him, and for her part she doesn't care whether he has money or not. But she doesn't feel like she can ever belong in his world, and when she hears his boss putting her down she realizes she doesn't want to be the cause of Noah losing out on his own dreams. So now Noah has to show Rylie that their love can overcome everything. I loved the ending and Noah's "go big" moment. show less

I really liked certain parts of this story, but the main conflict bothered me. It seems rather contrived and could have been cleared up in short order, if the characters - especially the heroine - had just opened up.

Hope's reasons for keeping Lyon at arms-length didn't make a lot of sense. The way she kept unintentionally hurting him by saying insensitive things started to bother me as the story wore on. I understood her reasons for wanting to marry him, but why she pushed him away is show more beyond me. show less

I loathe and despise the way this book went.. I honestly had high hopes for it! The writing was witty, characters had potential, but honestly half way through chapter two I was ready to slap the heroine... I get sadness and death, but 4 years later, I felt like she was just in denial or simply being mean. and no one likes a pushover I wanted the hero to grow a pair!! LIKE for real though!! I really disliked the heroine like so much, like the author forgot she was writing a romance and I felt show more the late husband was this huge insurmountable object that just wouldn't move... Honestly I dislike widow/widower storylines because sometimes it loses something!!! BUT THIS WAS TORTURE! show less

Night Mist by Helen R. Myers was a strange and weird read. Everything about it screams weird and strange from the characters to the paranormal events. This is one of those stories that despite its weirdness you feel compelled to continue just to see how it would all unfold.

The story introduces Dr. Rachel Gentry. One night on her way home from work she had an encounter with a ghostly figure calling out to her for help and warning her of impending danger. However, as she came close to the show more apparition to gain answers it disappears. Confused she made her way to the boarding house she has been staying. When she arrives, she bumps into her anti-social neighbour, Jay Barnes, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the ghostly figure on the bridge.

The Story
I cannot go into details without giving away the plot. The only thing I can say is the story got stranger and stranger as the events unfolded. Even at the end, I was still unsure about some events that had taken place.
The story is told from the third person POV. Both characters perspectives are provided but in the third person. The pacing was steady and the story fluid, which made for easy reading.

The Characters
Sad to say I did not develop a connection to the main characters. They both annoyed me. What was even more annoying was the romance that developed between them. Jay does not trust Rachel. As a matter of fact, he believes the people he was hiding from sent her to expose him. His hostility towards her leapt off the pages. Therefore, you can imagine my surprise, when they became intimately involved with each other. What made me even more annoyed by the romance was their lack of knowledge of each other. The little they both knew of each other was based on research and snooping.

The secondary characters provided more entertainment and helped to make things rather interesting. They believed strongly in the supernatural, especially the housekeeper Jewel.

Conclusion/Recommendation
The story did not elicit the feelings I expected. There were aspects of the story I found enjoyable, but it was not enough to wow me nor make me fully invested in the story or its characters. show less