Gail Gaymer Martin

All four stories were unique and different. All had people who needed to let God lead them when it came to following their heart. I laughed and I cried with some of these characters and enjoyed each story.

In 'Out on a Limb' Karen and Eric meet and realize the feud between their grandfathers is something that needs to be addressed. Those two grandfather's though brought a smile to my face at times just seeing how they went about irritating each other. Karen and Eric's growing attraction to show more each other will hopefully help bring the feud to an end.

In 'Over Her Head' Lana finds herself giving up her plans a lot to help out Mark, a new youth director. Lana will learn the hard way that being in control isn't always necessary. The circumstances she got herself into made me laugh at times. And the love her and Mark find was also a joy to see develop between the two of them, all while taking teenagers on a camping trip. What fun.

In 'Seasons' I found myself a little irritated at times at Sally, a recently widowed young lady, who tends to listen to others and forgot to seek out God and His advice when it comes to falling in love again. She meets Brad at a support group and the two of them slowly fall in love, but with Brad having lost his wife and leaving two small children behind, the blending of two families doesn't come easily. It did show some of the obstacles that come with finding love the second time around.

In 'Secrets Within' I was surprised by the mystery going on in this story. Laine finds herself having to take in her orphaned niece when her sister dies. A new place, a new niece and a new handsome neighbor, Jeff, all make for a very interesting story, especially when it seems someone is after diamonds that they think came with the niece and circumstances will eventually cause a lot of distrust between the budding romance between Jeff and Laine.

All four stories kept my attention and I appreciated the way the author always wrote about her love for God as well as Michigan in her stories. show less

When Amy Carroll is laid off from her teaching job in Chicago she takes a temporary position in tiny Harrisville, Michigan, the home of her grandmother. Almost immediately, she is introduced to the most disruptive students in her class, twin girls suffering from the aftermath of their mother’s death three years earlier. She also meets their apologetic, overwhelmed father. The two hit it off almost immediately, but Amy’s past makes her unsure about entrusting her heart to him. And Chicago show more is never far from her mind. How could quaint, little Harrisville possibly compete with the exciting lifestyle the Windy City provides? As Christmas approaches, she learns that her temporary position could become a permanent one, and Amy is forced to make a life-changing decision, one that will force her to rely upon the God she fears has abandoned her. As usual, Martin’s characters are believable and engaging. We are immediately drawn into their lives and quickly come to care for them.

Small Town Christmas is paired with another charming tale, Her Christmas Cowboy by Brenda Minton in the book Christmas Gifts from Harlequin’s popular Love Inspired imprint. This title is a quick and easy read that will provide the perfect retreat from the hectic pace of holiday preparations and will help us to refocus our attention on the real reason for the season. The phrase “curling up with a good book” could have been invented for Martin’s latest romance.

P.S. Don’t forget the hot chocolate! show less

A good beginning to this "Faith on the Line" series. Had some romance, some intrigue and danger, and a little suspense all rolled up into a story that doesn't take very long to read. A story about Adam Montgomery, a doctor, and Katharine Darling, a nurse and colleague while they are in South America with 'Doctors Without Borders'. The arrogant doctor will slowly change his ways when he is shot and near death. Katharine will nurse him back to health and come to care for him and protect him, show more as his life seems to be in danger. As the back cover says, "Will the transformed doctor show the woman he's fallen for that he needs her as a workmate . . . and a wife?" show less

It was a cute story and I enjoyed the dogs (Fred and Suzette). I'm guessing the "in training" part of the title was that many of the characters in the book learn life lessons, including Nick (the groom).

Nick is likable, but his chronic lateness would have driven me crazy and probably made me think that he didn't care as much as he said he did. (Actions speak louder than words--a discussion I remember having with a now ex-boyfriend). Yes, there were times that his lateness was excusable (when show more he had to rush Suzette to the vet, for example) but most of the times, his lateness was not for a reason like that. Nick eventually comes to see how others perceive this. Nick also has to learn that his past failed relationship was not his fault.

Nick's brother, Martin, learns that he's the one who put pressure to be perfect on himself. His family would love him even if he wasn't perfect. He also learns about perception and realizes comparing himself to his brother isn't the right thing to do.

Nick's mother learns patience and learns to appreciate what she has, even if it is an assisted living facility.

Steph has to get past the guilt she feels about her past marriage and the suicide of her husband. The feeling that she should have noticed something to be able to prevent it; the feeling that it happened because she wasn't good enough. She also learns to trust God.

Steph's brother, Hal, has to learn to stand on his own and stop mooching off of and stealing from others.

However good the life lessons learned are, the idea of a "groom in training" doesn't appeal much to me though I can't really explain why. I guess all of us are somewhat in training because we are learning things as we go along. Each relationship teaches us something, but the idea of training a spouse as we train a dog (since dogs are a big part of this book) doesn't sit well with me. show less