AT HOME IN WISHING BRIDGE By Ruth Logan Herne

Anything by Ruth Logan Herne is worth your time to read and a place on your favorites shelf. This book is the second in a series but could stand alone; however some of the same characters appear again and it helps to know their back story.

Thea Anastas is a nurse practioner who ended up in Wishing Bridge when she got an urgent call from a friend that she needed her help. Now we finds herself working for the only local Doctor who is filling the current medical practice temporarily until he can move on with his future plans.

Dr Ethan Brandenburg has custody of his deceased sister and her deceased husband's two children. He is having trouble dealing with their deaths as much as the children are. His youngest sister shows up to take advantage of his good graces but with no plans to get a job or further her education.

Thea has serious issues from her childhood that only her friends understand and that she is afraid to share with Ethan even more so as their relationship seems to be developing into more than a Doctor-nurse relationship.

When Ethan suffers a heart attack, things come to a climax. You will enjoy this read, getting to know the town, and the characters. I give it 5 stars. Thanks to Waterfall Press for allowing me to read this novel through Netgalley.

A CHRISTMAS PRAYER By Wanda Brunstetter

This is a lovely seasonal story to get you in the mood. If you like stories about the settlers who crossed our country in covered wagon, you will enjoy the exploits of this small group of people: a fiancee, his bride to be and her mother, a bother and sister, and a recently widowed father with his two small children. 

Most of the story is told through the diary of Cynthia Cooper who has promised herself to a man so that her mother and she will be taken care of once they reached California; but it soon becomes obvious that this is not a man she might want to spend the rest of her life with. On the trail, he seldom pitches in to help the other men with hunting food and hard labor. He complains a lot and has no patience for the children.

In the meantime, the other men are more her age, kind hearted and hard working men. Each has their own set of difficulties and concerns. 

A quick and enjoyable read. Thanks to Barbour Publishing for allowing to read this book through Netgalley.