Review: Love Finds You in Calico California by Elizabeth Ludwig

Love Finds You in Calico California

By Elizabeth Ludwig

I have been living on the edge lately! I have started to browse different sections of my local library and came across a local authors shelf. That is where I discovered Elizabeth Ludwig’s Love Finds You in Calico, California. This is Ludwig’s first  full length novel and I say she did a fantastic job.The cover really caught my eye, with a pistol and bold red boots!  I decided that I had to give this western a chance. I am glad I did! While this is not something I would have usually gone for, I could appreciate the author’s work and style throughout the novel. I generally don’t read books with a strong religious presence, but in this storyline, it worked really well. If I had to describe this title in a single sentence, it would probably go something like this, “Ludwig captures the purity and innocence of budding romance, set against the backdrop of sorrow and mystery”.

Abigail Watts and her father Anson, made their way out West to reap the benefits of the booming silver mining business found in Calico, California. Without her mother’s guidance, Abigail relied heavily on her father, and he on her. However, when a tragic, albeit suspicious, accident claims the life of Anson, Abigail must fend for herself, alone, in the Wild West. With the help of Nathan Hawk, widower and father to a young daughter Lizzy, Abigail is determined to uncover the truth about her father’s demise. Together they will find truth, and maybe true love.

I really, really enjoyed this book. There weren’t any steamy romance scenes, or foul language, nothing that would make my Grandmother blush, and I don’t think adding any of that would have worked with this couple. They each needed simplicity, honesty and love; nothing more. If you were looking for a quick, heartwarming read, this would be a great choice. My only critique is that it was too short. I want to know what happens to this small town, and the book really offered a lot of opportunity to expand on that.

Inn at Last Chance

Inn at Last Chance
by Hope Ramsey

This is the 7th full length book in the last chance series.

I received an ARC of this book from the Publisher, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Jenny Carpenter, pie baker extraordinaire and spinster, purchased Jonquil House to set up a bed and breakfast when she realized her dreams of a husband and family were not going to happen. Gabriel Raintree is the former owner of Jonquil House and a famous writer. He’s currently suffering from writer’s block and heartache from a past he can’t quite remember. When he decides that his former home is the best place to hide out from his editor and rabid fans he finds that a spinster can be a heck of a lot more stubborn than he’d thought.

This is an odd book. The prose is florid, and the dialogue is stilted. There’s also a ton of internal monologue. It takes telling instead of showing to an extreme. It’s also odd in that it has heavy Christian themes of the typical inspirational type, but it’s also got a supernatural element in the form of a ghost, and there is premarital sex. There’s also a fairly nice plot twist but due to the heavy foreshadowing some readers may find it easy to see ahead of time.

While I can’t say that this is my particular cup of tea, it’s oddly readable for all that the story is very slow until about the last 50 pages.