Calista York needs one more successful case as a Pinkerton operative to secure her job. When she’s assigned to find the kidnapped daughter of a mob boss, she’s sent to the rowdy mining town of Joplin, Missouri, despite having extended family in the area. Will their meddling expose her mission and keep Lila Seaton from being recovered?When Matthew Cook decided to be a missionary, he never expected … expected to be sent only a short train ride away. While fighting against corruption of all sorts, Matthew hears of a baby raffle being held to raise funds for a children’s home. He’ll do what he can to stop it, but he also wants to stop the reckless Miss York, whose bad judgment consistently seems to be putting her in harm’s way.Calista doesn’t need the handsome pastor interfering with her investigation, and she can’t let her disguise slip. Her job and the life of a young lady depend on keeping Matthew in the dark.
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An entertaining story to start off a fun new series
This story reminded me a lot of Jen Turano’s books, though the comedy’s a little more understated, not quite as “madcap”.
Calista is trying to figure out how to find & rescue a missing young woman, so she can become a Pinkerton detective. Matthew is trying to figure out how to rescue lost souls, so he can become an effective pastor.
They’re both earnest, a little light on life experience, & slightly bumbling, and eventually decide to work together – especially since Calista’s surrounded by relatives trying to keep her out of trouble despite herself. It makes for both funny and occasionally dangerous situations. It did feel a little laggy toward the middle, but nothing excessive.
It’s an enjoyable story that has a bit of a twist at the end to keep you second-guessing things along the way – I totally recommend it!
*Romance level: sweet kisses, nothing graphic
*Religion: Christian, but organic to the story & not heavy-handed at all
I really enjoyed this book! I think my favorite part of this novel was the characters. They are spunky, independent, fierce, and endearing and I liked Calista and Matthew instantly. Their banter throughout the story is entertaining and fun to read. I liked their interactions and their growth. The addition of the mystery and suspense of the novel only serves to make the story even richer and deeper, and some of the levity is broken up with the hilarious scrapes that Calista finds herself in throughout the story. The spiritual theme of finding God’s calling is clear in the novel and really applicable to my own life. I greatly enjoyed this novel and look forward to more in the series! There is a novella that preludes this book but it is not absolutely necessary to read that first. However, I highly recommend both the novella and this new novel!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
I enjoyed Ms. Jennings writing style. It makes reading her books very enjoyable. In fact I mistakenly picked up the first I read of her books thinking it was a different author. As I read I kept thinking how much better this one was than the last I’d read. It was only after I finished that I realized she was not the same author. And this Ms. Jennings was so much better.
I liked the main characters. Calista is a strong female that doesn’t seem to have much fear, even when she maybe should. And she is determined to do something good with her life. Matthew also has those same desires. He is determined and desires to do good in the world. They both learn a lot over the course of the book.
I also loved the secondary characters. Calista’s family seems to be filled with fun characters and some parts of the family are particularly quirky. Loved the cousins and the grandmother. It appears that this series will all take place in Joplin. I hope that means some of these fun characters get their own books.
As far as the missing persons mystery goes, I kinda figured it out before the reveal but I wasn’t entirely correct. Saying anything more than that would be a spoiler.
There are some Christian themes in the story which were perfectly natural in these characters. No big sermons in your face.
I’m giving this 5 stars because I really can’t think of anything that I just didn’t like about it. It was an enjoyable read.
Sex: leering, propositioning – not overly graphic
Language: no
Violence: yes – not overly graphic
*I received a complimentary ARC of this book through Netgalley and voluntarily chose to review it.
I really liked the last third of this book, but the first two-thirds dragged for me somewhat. I just didn’t enjoy Calista or Matthew as characters; Calista’s constant lies, while perhaps necessary for her job, made it hard to really connect with her–and the lies she tried to pass off about being a nurse, when she obviously couldn’t even handle anything remotely connected to nursing didn’t make her seem like the most competent of detectives. It made it hard to see why Matthew would even want to put up with her at all. I also found myself more irritated than endeared by Calista’s extended family. So, I struggled through the first two-thirds of the book, but I did like the remainder. There were some good messages about how God works in people’s lives as well as some really nice romantic lines.
I read an ARC provided by the publisher via #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
“Thanks for making me do what I didn’t want to do. Thanks for making me be a better person than I want to be today.”
Regina Jennings once again delivers a historical romance with wit, charm, funny laugh-out-loud scenes, and wonderful characters with a subtle undercurrent of intrigue and mystery. This novel kicks off her new Joplin Chronicles series set in late 1890s and it promises to be an exciting and adventurous series. Calista is an undercover Pinkerton agent in training who has been sent to Joplin, MO to find a kidnapped daughter of a Chicago mobster. Her enthusiastic devotion to her calling as an investigator, ingenuity, and cleverness are unparalleled though she does constantly get into one scrape or another while on the job. Her physical proximity to her large, influential extended family in Joplin hinders her work but provides for much amusement. Matthew is a farm boy who’s followed God’s calling to Joplin to preach and minister. His naive, good-hearted, compassionate nature is refreshing and lovely though he needs to learn humility in the hardened mining town. There are plenty of memorable scenes like playing charades, foray into seedy bars, volunteering at an orphanage, Bible studies in Matthew’s little cottage, and a baby raffle in the midst of Calista and Matthew each finding the right path that God is calling them to. If you enjoy well-written, fun historical romance, you will definitely enjoy this book.
I received a copy of the book from Bethany House Publishers and was under no obligation to post a positive review. All comments and opinions are solely my own.
“Callista had been warned that Saturday night in Joplin was unlike anywhere else in the world.”
Travelling back to her hometown of Joplin, Missouri put Pinkerton operative Callista York in a precarious position. People would most certainly recognize her, but unfortunately not version of “her” that she was pretending to be. Callista’s mission was crystal clear; find the missing mob boss’ daughter as quickly as possible, safely extract the subject, thus securing her job with the famed detective agency. Wouldn’t you know it? In a comedic twist of fate, she runs straight into a preacher man trying to save her soul from perdition, on her very first foray into Joplin’s dens of iniquity.
“Matthew had been warned about Saturday night.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, Matthew hadn’t been warned about beautiful women pretending to be “professional decorators” in one place and “nurses” in another. Callista York was up to her pretty little neck in tall tales, but why? Being a missionary in a place like Joplin was already more that Matthew Cook had bargained for, now he was worrying and wondering about dark curls and lovely eyes and . . . . . just who is she anyway? Callista is related to half the town.
Enjoy this delightfully entertaining story of “handsome-wholesome” meeting “spunky-sparky”, for when matters of the heart rise to the surface, and unforeseen danger rounds the corner, Callista and Matthew succumb to a partnership which they sadly realize can’t possibly end in a happily ever after scenario. For “the same God who compels you to declare freedom to the captives has given me the task of freeing a very specific captive. There’s no difference.” . . . . or so she thinks.
Calista York needs one more successful case as a Pinkerton operative to secure her job. When she’s assigned to find the kidnapped daughter of a mob boss, she’s sent to the rowdy mining town of Joplin, Missouri, despite having extended family in the area. Will their meddling expose her mission and keep Lila Seaton from being recovered?
When Matthew Cook decided to be a missionary, he never expected to be sent only a short train ride away. While fighting against corruption of all sorts, Matthew hears of a baby raffle being held to raise funds for a children’s home. He’ll do what he can to stop it, but he also wants to stop the reckless Miss York, whose bad judgment consistently seems to be putting her in harm’s way.
Calista doesn’t need the handsome pastor interfering with her investigation, and she can’t let her disguise slip. Her job and the life of a young lady depend on keeping Matthew in the dark.
All Calista wants to do is be a Pinkerton agent. One last successful assignment is all she needs to prove herself. The only problem is that she is sent to Joplin where she has lots of family and Joplin is a wild town. How can she remain incognito when she runs into family at every turn. Then there’s Matthew. He’s trying to keep her from entering into the den of iniquity.
This is a good book that I recommend. Who knew that Joplin had such shady beginnings.
I was given this book by Bethany House Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I was not compensated in any way.
An intriguing, valuable read from Regina Jennings! Courting Misfortune is a romantic, inspirational, and exciting story, and is one of my new favorites of Jennings novels.
The character connections within the story never failed to surprise me. Of course, I won’t give anything away here, but readers will be perpetually intrigued by the plot’s twists and turns! This story also gave me valuable reminders about the importance of not judging people whose shoes I haven’t walked in. I empathized with and felt for each of the characters in this story, and the lessons I learned from them will stay with me. There are also funny moments that made me smile, and wonderful imagery that captivated me.
Fans of authors such as Regina Scott and Tracie Peterson won’t want to miss Courting Misfortune! 4/5 stars
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
3.5
‘Don’t be afraid to deal with the mess, son. The sweetest moments come from the most offensive fertilizer ‘
Calista York is a budding Pinkerton agent sent to Joplin to find a mob boss’s kidnapped daughter. Joplin is a wild city and she is soon swept up. Trying to find jobs to help her complete her goal, she happens upon Matthew Cook, a man who yearns to be a missionary. Goodness knows, this town needs the Lord’s help! What with miners who can’t feed their families because of drinking, a brothel, a baby raffle, Matthew’s work is cut out for him. Add in a few members of Calista’s odd extended family, this book is a recipe for a good read. Full of wit and good lessons, this will satisfy a reader’s heart.
Thanks to Bethany House Publishers for a digital copy of this book via Net Galley. I received no compensation and the opinion in this review is my own.