Diana Lesire Brandmeyer

This story had an interesting beginning, which led to an interesting story. Travis Logan is through doctoring after seeing the ravages of the Civil War, but finds himself helping out a fellow steamboat passenger who collapses at his feet. The older man lies dying and makes Travis promise to take his land and find Heaven. He is a little confused what the old man meant, but sets out to take over his land and raise horses on it.

Meanwhile Heaven and Angel, daughters of the old man, await his return as they try to keep up the Wharton homestead. Heaven's first contact with Travis will be trying to scare him off their property by shooting above him, but ends up hitting him. From here on out it gets fun watching these two figure out what to do with the dying father's wish.

I liked all the characters and Angel was a real jewel. She didn't want her blindness to slow her down in anything she could do. It was a delightful story and held my attention all the way through.… (més)

Hearts on the Road by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer is a romance novel set in 2009. Randi Davis is a truck driver working with her friend, Jess Price. While on a run, she gets a call from a social worker regarding her niece, Emma. Her brother, A.J. has been arrested and Randi is named guardian of her niece. Unwilling to settle down thanks to her ex-fiancé, Randi appeals to her mother to watch young Emma. While at a rest stop, Jess is shot, and Randi injured. With Jess out on leave, Randi is paired with Matthew Carter. Matthew is a pastor who feels God is calling him to minister to truck drivers (Truckers for Christ program). Randi and Matthew are soon at odds. Randi wishes to keep to a schedule, yet Matthew feels he cannot leave a person in need. While Randi pretends to ignore Matthew’s talks about God, the messages are getting through to her. Soon they are spending time together along with Emma. Then Randi’s mother injures herself and can no longer take care of Emma. It is time for Randi to come to terms with her past and plan for the future. Matthew, though, is just starting his ministry and is not ready to settle down. Can Matthew and Randi find a way to work out their differences?

Hearts on the Road is nicely written and has a steady pace which makes for an easy to read story. My favorite character is Emma. She is an endearing young girl. Randi and Matthew are likable and relatable characters. They feel real. It does take a while to relate to Randi and why she is insistent on staying on the road (instead of taking care of her niece). The Christian elements are prevalent throughout the book. They include God’s path, faith, scripture and the power of prayer. We get to see Randi on a journey to regain her faith. The author did a good job at portraying the life of truck drivers. The long drives, rules regulating truck drivers, living conditions, etc. I did feel, though, that the ending was rushed. All of sudden, Randi does a complete 360. Hearts on the Road is a sweet, simple romance story. There is a preview of A Time to Dance at the end of the book.… (més)

Review for THE EVERYGREEN BRIDE:

I couldn’t help but fall in love with this story.

The heroine, like myself, is a Mississippi girl who loves snow. Only Mississippi doesn’t see snow that often, especially enough to cover the ground in white.

Samuel had my heart from the beginning. His quiet, gentle interest in Annabelle is portrayed so well, though he hides it from the heroine until he thinks he’s going to lose her to a fellow up north!

Their tender exchanges and the push-pull is so sweet and sigh-worthy. Especially the gift at the end. Makes my heart smile. Definitely a worthy read, like all Ms. Hillman’s works.
… (més)