Jessica

Springwater #5

by Linda Lael Miller

Outspoken spinster Jessica Barnes arrives in Springwater to help her ailing brother run the Springwater Gazette, only to find her family in upheaval with the newspaper nearly bankrupt and to clash with Gage Calloway, the strong-willed, opinionated mayor of Springwater. Original.

Genres: Romance, Historical Romance, Westerns, Western Romance, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction

160 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published April 1, 1999

About the author

The daughter of a town marshal, Linda Lael Miller is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 100 historical and contemporary novels, most of which reflect her love of the West. Raised in Northport, Washington, Linda pursued her wanderlust, living in London and Arizona and traveling the world before returning to the state of her birth to settle down on a spacious property outside Spokane.
Linda traces the birth of her writing career to the day when a Northport teacher told her that the stories she was writing were good, that she just might have a future in writing. Later, when she decided to write novels, she endured her share of rejection before she sold Fletcher’s Woman in 1983 to Pocket Books. Since then, Linda has successfully published historicals, contemporaries, paranormals, mysteries and thrillers before coming home, in a literal sense, and concentrating on novels with a Western flavor. For her devotion to her craft, the Romance Writers of America awarded her their prestigious Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.
Long a passionate Civil War buff, Linda has studied the era avidly for almost thirty years. She has read literally hundreds of books on the subject, explored numerous battlegrounds and made many visits to her favorite, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where she has witnessed re-enactments of the legendary clash between North and South. Linda explores that turbulent time in The Yankee Widow, a May 7, 2019 MIRA Books hardcover, also available in digital and audiobook formats.
Dedicated to helping others, “The First Lady of the West” personally financed fifteen years of her Linda Lael Miller Scholarships for Women, which she awarded to women 25 years and older who were seeking to improve their lot in life through education. She anticipates that her next charitable endeavors will benefit four-legged critters.
More information about Linda and her novels is available at www.lindalaelmiller.com, on Facebook and from Nancy Berland Public Relations, nancy@nancyberland.com, 405-206-4748.

Reviews

[Cecelia]

This isn't my favorite of Linda's books. It seemed rushed and underdeveloped to me. I think I would have liked the charachters more and appretiated their relationship if there were say, another 150 pages in which they moved passed superficial and got on toward a complex and less rushed relationship. However, like all of Linda's books, the charachters themselves are vibrant as well as their surroundings. I just wish it had more time to develop...

[Rhonda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute historical romance novella, although the relationship moved very quickly. Seriously. Days. Set in the 1800s, in the west, so obviously things were different then, but I do wish it moved a bit more slowly.

I've never read Linda Lael Miller before, and was pleasantly surprised by the story.

I listened to the audiobook, which was fine.

[Jennifer Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a nice,short simple read.It wasn't overly complex,and there wasn't much to the plot.I think this lead character felt she was going to be alone for the rest of her life much like I do in my own life,but to her surprise she finds a much better life and future waiting for her after a couple of glitches. The book is part of a series.It is nice if you want a quick,simple read.

[TinaMarie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Governess arrives to join her brother to find out he died, leaving her to care for his twins and takeover the newspaper, sparking with attorney holding her brother's debts. Again not really seeing/feeling the love they claim for each other

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another good one in the Springwater series, but not long enough. That is my only complaint.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favorite of the series but a cute novella none the less. Since it is a short story, the characters weren’t really explored much but it fits in with the series well.

[Angela]

5

[penelopewanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another in this spiral. Again, mixed feelings about how brief the book is and unsure why. Why, for example, do the hero and heroine have to fall in love the day they meet and marry basically the next? What harm would there have been in letting the relationship develop over the course of, say, a month or two??? All I can think is maybe someone was thinking television or something, but even there, it doesn't have to be filmed in real time, does it? So yes, I enjoyed reading the story, enjoyed the characters etc, but I am not convinced by the novella form or the accelerated action this seems to lead to.

[Maria · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice story but I kept thinking a lot was left out that would have made the story more interesting. For example, there is very little of what Jessica had to deal with concerning the twins. Any new mother, in this case, aunt, knows how terrifying dealing with babies for the first time is. Then there were the storms, two of them, which should have been absolutely frightening but there isn't enough there to show how bad cold weather, snow, wind, and wet can be. This book really needs to be fleshed out to add interest and depth to the story.

[Jane(Janelba) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one. The story was particularly warming and great characters.

[Phyllis Wiley]

good

[Betsy Rinaldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

quick, good read

[K-Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read late at night. It was a quick read with a lot of action. I really enjoyed this book.