Karen Malley's Moonlight and Mystery is a sweet contemporary romance with a high school science teacher and a local socialite finding each other by way of community theater. She cleverly uses the parallel story within the play to advance the main plot, which is a technique I had not seen done before. Both characters have to find the confidence and courage to go after what they want. I would recommend this book for young adults as well as adults.

Reading through Madam Muldoon's Garden, I realized why the author named this series Those Resilient Muldoons. We get an in-depth look at a 19th century Irish family as they struggle to survive poverty and prejudice. Although the interaction between family members is often light and humorous, the very disturbing reality of what people sometimes endure pervades the story--along with the resilient spirit that God placed in humans and how He can redeem each one.

If you enjoyed shows such as I Love Lucy, this is the book for you. The main character, Nancy, is definitely a Lucy-type who manages to find trouble wherever she goes. At the same time, she's a sympathetic character because most of us can relate to her in many ways. Her desire to be loved, to be seen, to count for something--which we all want--leads her to make wrong choices. The mystery resolves as Nancy learns who she really is in Christ.

Like many Regency period stories, this story involves a marriage of convenience that is designed to save a woman's reputation and to preserve a man's political or business connections. Oddly enough, the driving force behind the marriage in this case is the woman's brother who constantly sinks deeper into trouble. Readers of Regency novels, of course, stay with it for the evolving romance, which does not disappoint.