Reviewer: Lori Graham
Title: Fires of War and Winter - Book 2 in the Autumn in Cranky Otter Series
Author: C.J. Winters
Publisher: Hard Shell Word Factory
ISBN: 0-7599-4792-9
Release Date: November 2005
Genre/Sub-genre: (Historical) Romantic Suspense
Year/Setting: 1942, Denver, Colorado
Overall rating: 4.5
Sexual content rating: Subtle (and just a bit stronger)
C.J.'s Website:
www.cjwinters.com
Melany McKinley has just had the best day of her life. The man she loves has proposed marriage and they have picked out the ring. The man who sold them the ring recognized Melany’s gift for seeing the life in the stones he offered and asked her to come into the business as his student and some day partner. The only mar in the day is that the man she loves and has agreed to marry is a soldier, Lt. Logan Barre, and will be leaving soon for the front. However, she has one more night with him and will make a lot of memories from that night. Or so she thought before he was called up immediately and the night never happened.
To keep herself from falling apart entirely, she begins work with the jeweler, Franklin Kismet. She finds she not only greatly enjoys working with Franklin but also has a real gift with the stones he is teaching her about. She further finds she has the gift of second sight much like her mother. Her gift is not as strong and clear as her mother’s but it is there none-the-less.
Franklin is joined by his nephew, Daniel Wenceslaus, soon after Melany joined the business. Daniel has been temporarily stationed at Lowry Air Force Base. He is from the Czech Republic and is larger than life – both in size and character. Daniel is not a man who hears "no" very often but is such a charmer people don’t seem to mind too much.
As Melany begins to know Daniel, her sightings seem to also increase. She finds herself drawn into a spy ring she hadn’t known existed. She knows she must help her country but at the same time finds herself a bit saddened by what is happening. She also finds emotions developing towards Daniel that shouldn’t be happening to a woman who is engaged and truly loves the man she is engaged to. Is it possible to love two men?
Fires of War and Winter is a continuation of the Autumn in Cranky Otter Series from Book 1, Foredestined Summer by C.J. Winters. However, the only real sequel element of the book is Melany is the daughter of the two main characters, Swift and Aurie McKinley, from the first book and the gift of "sight" has passed from Aurie to Melany. The same flow and style carry on from the first book but the second book is truly a creation which stands alone and strongly so.
C.J. Winters, in fact, gets better with the second book. There were times the first could jump around just a tad and didn’t seem to flow quite as smoothly. This account, however, flows smoothly from one scene to the next. The descriptive terms also go in greater depth and the cleverness shown by C.J. is easy to read and grasp. The story possibility is quite believable and intriguing and scenes set up were easy to visualize. The portrayal of the gems in fact is so clear you could swear you are looking through the microscope with Melany. The depiction of the feelings developing also captured my heart because I could understand how conflicted Melany was feeling and how much she didn’t want to hurt either of the men in her life. She is given some pretty major obstacles (some of which I just can’t give away in this writing) and overcomes them with the same strength shown by her mother in the first story.
Well done and I am looking forward to Spring and Fall in the Autumn in Cranky Otter Series!
Lori
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