Sharon Sala

Super cute holiday read. i didn't expect the Cinderella retelling with Marley's missing shoe, it getting stuck in the mud. One of my favorite stories so it just made me enjoy this one that much more.
I really loved Trey's character. Did he fall fast and hard for Marley? Yes!! But how could you not after she saved his life. There was family drama with Trey's parents and the truth of his father was truly so sad. So i get why he wasn't in his life, but there was a better way for sure.

Very good book. Quinn has been home from the war for three years and is still fighting the aftereffects. He still has nightmares and flashbacks, but he's better than he was. He has a job as a backcountry park ranger so he doesn't have to deal with too many people. When he hears that Mariah was wounded and has no place to go when she gets out of the hospital he brings her to his place to finish her healing. They had had a hot and heavy romance back when they served together and she was the show more one who saved him when he was injured. He has never forgotten her and is looking forward to being with her again.

Mariah is surprised to see him, but happy to have someplace to go. As a foster child all her life she is used to depending on no one except herself and finds being dependent extremely frustrating. Her attraction to Quinn is as strong as ever, but until she feels like she is truly recovering she won't allow herself to think of a future with him.

I really liked both Quinn and Mariah. Quinn knows his strengths and weaknesses and is able to work his life around them. He still fights his PTSD, frequently waking with nightmares. He's close with his family, and appreciates that they've been there for him throughout his recovery. When he hears about Mariah he doesn't even think twice about bringing her back to his home. I loved seeing how his own experience made him so much more sensitive to her needs. It was quickly obvious how much he still cared for her, and how that love was shown in everything he did for her.

I also loved seeing Quinn doing his work as a ranger. He loved his job and it showed. The scenes with the rogue bear were very intense and his determination to find the poacher who created the problem was there throughout the book. It also showed that he would see a problem through to its end no matter what.

Mariah was a terrific character. I loved her independence and her sassiness. She had cared for Quinn back when they were together and that caring had never disappeared. Having him show up when she was at a pretty low point gave her a boost that she really needed. I loved the give and take teasing between them and how it helped keep Mariah grounded. Her flashbacks and nightmares scare her because she doesn't know if she'll ever feel normal again and she won't commit to anything with Quinn until she she does. I loved her determination to fight her fears, including going into the forest that is an alien world to her. Her confrontation with the rogue bear was heartpounding as she dealt with it and then the following flashback. I also enjoyed seeing her get to know Quinn's family. Having no family of her own she is fascinated by their interactions and also by their immediate acceptance of her. I loved seeing her improve physically and mentally thanks to her own determination and Quinn's love.

The suspense part of the book was great. The rogue bear at the beginning seemed to be unconnected until later in the book when it was explained. The appearance of the local "bad boy" who had moved on to bigger things started the ball rolling on the trouble that came to Rebel Ridge. It was interesting to see things from his point of view and follow along as things began to unravel. The various members of the supporting cast for his "business" were well drawn and provided additional dimension to the bad guy's actions. The buildup to the showdown was excellent. I loved seeing how everything came together. I really loved the strength of will that Mariah showed and the reactions of the people around her. show less

The Healer is a combination romantic suspense and light paranormal romance. I call it “light,” because there are no supernatural creatures like vampires or werewolves, no witches or wizards, no fantasy worlds, or anything else that would make it wholly paranormal. All the characters are human, although the hero’s origins are admittedly unknown. He possesses a tremendous gift for healing any living thing, human or animal. He can also communicate with animals and can emit a type of show more psychic pulse that can temporarily control another person and make them do things they don’t necessarily want to do, but he only uses this part of his power in self-defense. Finally, he can track via scent much like a canine and also has a sixth sense about when things are going to happen or when a certain person is nearby. While the hero’s powers are fairly extensive, he inhabits a world that is of the contemporary small-town variety with lots of suspense. The heroine has a stalker who has every intention of raping and killing her, while the hero is on the run from a major baddie who wants the hero’s power for his own gain. So there’s plenty going on to keep the story moving at a fairly fast pace that kept me engaged throughout.

As a toddler, Jonah was walked into the small town of Snow Valley, Alaska by a female wolf. No one knew where he came from or how he came to be with the wolves, but he has an obvious connection with them. When no parents or relatives could be found, the local doctor adopted and raised him. Even as a child, Jonah exhibited the ability to heal animals. After Jonah was grown but still a very young man, Major Bourdain, a millionaire, came to town on a hunting trip and was attacked by a grizzly. Jonah’s father was away delivering a baby, so Bourdain’s friend came to get Jonah, who healed him. It became the only time in his life that he regretted healing someone, because once Bourdain realized what had happened, he decided that he had to control Jonah’s power for his own financial gain and so that he could live forever. He sent hunters after Jonah who ended up murdering his father, and Jonah has been on the run from him ever since. For the past ten years, it’s been a lonely, solitary existence, always trying to stay one step ahead of the men Bourdain sent after him, until he ends up in the small town of Little Top, West Virginia, where he meets and falls in love with Lucia, the heroine. Then he realizes that the running has to stop, so he decides to make a stand.

I loved Jonah. I’m a huge fan of Native American heroes, especially those with long hair, and that’s certainly Jonah. He’s also another one of my favorite hero types, the gentle giant. He’s a big man, but so very kind and gentle, particularly with women, children and animals. He’s no pushover, though. When he’s angry, his powers can make him a very dangerous man to be around for the person who riles him up. I also love the fact that he can communicate with animals. Even the most ferocious beasts turn into pussycats around him. Not to mention his incredible healing abilities, which has always been one of my favorite “superpowers.” Oh yeah, and a man who can give a woman the Big O just by touching her? Yes, please! ;-) Jonah, quite simply, hit many of my favorite tropes, which is also going to put him high on my list of favorite romance heroes. The only thing about Jonah that made me go, hmmm…, is that he has this deep connection with the animals and even tried to protect a tiny field mouse from being eaten by predatory birds, but he himself eats meat, which seemed a little strange and at odds with his abilities, but this isn’t explained.

Lucia was the sole survivor of a car accident that claimed the lives of the rest of her family when she was only a teenager. After that she went to live with an aunt and uncle, but when she couldn’t deal with the uncle’s unwanted advanced any longer, she ran away. Eventually she settled in Little Top, where she works as a waitress at the local diner and lives in a rustic mountain cabin owned by an elderly lady. Lately she seems to have picked up a stalker who has been leaving notes for her. At first, they were merely a little creepy, so the local sheriff refused to do anything about it, but they’ve gradually gotten more threatening over time. After Lucia’s dog, Hobo, was caught in a trap that she suspected was set by the stalker, she ran to the gas station looking for help. Jonah had just arrived in town and offered to come with her. By the time he got Hobo out of the trap, the dog was pretty badly injured, so Jonah healed him, leaving Lucia stunned by what she witnessed. However, she can’t help feeling a connection with the man and a sense that he can be trusted, so when she finds out he has no place to go, she offers him the spare room in her cabin and sets him up working as a handyman for her elderly landlady. Not to mention, she figures that having a man close by might dissuade her stalker from coming around anymore.

I really liked Lucia. She’s a strong Latina woman, who is very open-minded and accepting of Jonah for what he is. She’s impressed and in constant awe of his power, rather than being afraid of it. Her landlady, Bridie, thinks of her as a daughter, and pretty much everyone in town likes her and knows she’s a hard worker. Luce is just an all-around likable heroine, so the only small issue I had was that I felt like her characterization could have been a little more developed. I thought perhaps her past and her feelings surrounding that could have been brought out a bit more, but at the same time, I recognize that this was primarily Jonah’s story and between that and everything else going on, there wasn’t a lot of extra room. So in the end, I wasn’t too perturbed by this.

Overall, I very much enjoyed The Healer. It’s a unique story that really drew me in and definitely kept me reading. I waffled a bit on my rating between giving it 4.5 stars and the full five, but went with 4.5. Aside from Lucia’s weaker characterization there were a few other minor things that bothered me just enough to drop the half-star. Jonah and Lucia fall in love very quickly, within only a couple of days, which kind of pushes the bounds of credibility a bit. But the two things that helped to mitigate this some is the paranormal element which implies that they are somehow soul mates and also the author is very good at expressing the deep emotional connection between these characters. One other thing that I wasn’t overly fond of is that the author engages in head-hopping narration. Especially in scenes involving multiple characters, she may change the POV every paragraph or two. I was still able to keep up with it, but I couldn’t help wondering what it might have been like to get that deep POV that’s only afforded by staying in one character’s perspective for an entire scene. Lastly, I did pick up on a tiny bit of repetition, but it wasn’t too bad. Although together, these things were enough for me knock off the half-star, they didn’t really detract much from my overall enjoyment of the book. It was my first read by the prolific Sharon Sala, but it definitely won’t be my last. I look forward to exploring more of her backlist soon. show less

LilyAnn Bronte was once the envy of her high school classmates. Sweet, popular and beautiful she was valedictorian, head cheerleader, crowned ‘Miss Peachy-Keen Queen’ and dating star quarterback, Randy Joe. But then Randy was killed in Afghanistan, having enlisted after the tragedy of 9/11, and LilyAnn’s blessed life fell apart. Grieving for her fiance, she withdrew and ten years later she is overweight, out of shape and alone, still visiting Randy’s grave every week. Its the arrival show more of a handsome stranger in town that finally inspires LilyAnne to reinvent herself, unaware that his notice is not something you would want.

While a large part of this story is about LilyAnne’s efforts to rebuild her life, the focus is firmly on the romance between LilyAnne and her neighbour, Mike Dalton. Having been in love with LilyAnne since the tenth grade, Mike is hoping that the changes she is making will include the way she sees him, but she remains largely oblivious until Ruby, the owner of the Curl Up and Dye Salon, chooses to give them both a little push. The development of their romance is beset by miscommunication, misguided attempts at provoking jealousy and the misinterpretation of intentions, and though a happy ending is never really in any doubt, it is satisfying when LilyAnne and Mike finally get it together.

What did surprise me was the subplot involving the stranger, T.J. who proves to be a nasty piece of work. I really wasn’t expecting some of the violence that occurs during the course of the novel, and it may be confronting for some readers caught unawares.

To offset the drama there is humour and southern snark, quirky characters and a charming small town atmosphere. The Curl Up and Dye beauty salon is the place to which all the characters gravitate, best introduced in Sala’s prequel novella, Color Me Bad, in which LilyAnne briefly appears.

The Curl Up and Dye is a quick, engaging read blending romance, drama and humour. Well known for her romantic suspense fiction, Sharon Sala is sure to pick up some new fans with her foray into southern fiction who will be looking forward to revisiting Blessings as the series progresses. show less