Anonymous
Posted November 16, 2007
Bonnie Kahler can¿t help defending her son Zach when he gets into fights with other boys. She believes he¿ll stop fighting and settle down eventually. After all, he¿s still grieving for his father. Her heart hurts for him because she¿s also having trouble handling her grief. Travis Whitworth¿s first day in Kahlerville is more than memorable. After he breaks up a fight, walks the boys back to school, and angers a beautiful woman, wasps sting his hand - twice. But as the new pastor of Piney Woods Church, displaying patience is part of the job. Patience will come in handy for Travis since Reverend Rainer is retiring and the residents aren¿t sure they trust someone like Brother Travis. Three generations of Bonnie Kahler¿s family try to make him feel welcome, but Bonnie and Zach seem to need special prayers. In this final book of the Texas Legacy Series, Kahlerville comes alive as romance and deceit changes the strong characters who must fight the dangerous lies that threaten young lives. DiAnn Mills captures hearts, ending the book with a whoop and a holler.
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Posted September 22, 2007
Travis Whitworth has come to Kahlerville in hopes of a new beginning. However, replacing the town¿s cherished minister will be a challenge. And will the good people of Kahlerville discover their new preacher¿s nefarious secrets? Travis does not count on meeting an attractive woman, Bonnie Kahler, the widow of the former sheriff and the mother of a troubled teenager. Bonnie Kahler has mourned long enough. She had allowed herself to wallow in her pity with the help of a troublesome benefactor, a deceitful and dubious banker, who kept her supplied with wine. When she realizes how her drinking has caused her son pain, she vows to become the mother her fatherless children need. As she strengthens in purpose and wisdom, she is befriended by Kahlerville¿s new minister who also tries to help turn Zach¿s behavior around. When a woman is found dead, Zach is accused by Lester Hillman, a lecherous man who hides under a cloak of decency and generosity. Diann has weaved another gripping tale in her Texas saga about a Western family trying to live their faith in the closing years of the 19th century. Ligtning and Lace is about second chances. Not only for Travis and Bonnie. Can Bonnie¿s son, Zach be saved from a heart bent toward resentment and bitterness? Entertaining as well as inspiring.
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Posted March 14, 2007
Let me start by saying that I don't usually read novels in this genre. But I had heard a great deal about DiAnn Mills' novels, and when the opportunity arose to read Lightning and Lace, I took it, and was pleasantly surprised. She certainly knows how to craft a story. Her prose is crisp and clean, her characters are real, and the plot moves along nicely. I can definitely recommend this as a pleasant reading experience.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.In 1898 Kahlerville, Texas, every morning for almost three years, Bonnie wakes up praying Ben is in bed with her instead of in the grave before putting on her happy face so that their two sons Zack and Michael Paul go to school in a positive mood and their daughter Lydia Anne can feel contented. Inside, Bonnie knows she still mourns her loss and has not moved on. --- After forty years preaching at the Piney Woods Church, Reverend John Rainer, Bonnie¿s stepfather, is retiring Travis Whitworth will replace him though the congregation believes no one can take the place of their beloved pastor especially a bachelor. On his first day in town, Travis breaks up a fight between kids whom he escorts to the school only to have one of them Zack lie to his mother about his intervention. However, she soon realizes her son lied and has been abusive to his younger siblings too. As Travis begins preaching, he also works repairs at her ranch and takes over ¿fathering¿ an angry Zack. Travis and Bonnie fall in love, but neither has time to explore their feelings. Travis finds the murdered body of Rosie with much of his flock assuming he is the culprit because of the whispers of a model citizen and because he is the newcomer that is without anyone knowing about his past. --- The third Texas Legacy western romance (see LEATHER AND LACE and LANTERNS AND LACE) is a fabulous historical that once again interweaves its message of have faith in the Lord during the good and bad times into an exciting late nineteenth century historicals tale. Bonnie and Travis are fully developed interesting protagonists who fall in love although have doubts that they are worthy of such regard. The support cast, as always with DiAnn Mills¿ saga augments the plot in this case especially Zack. Though the homicide adds late suspense, fans will appreciate the entertaining inspirational latest ¿Lace¿ novel. --- Harriet Klausner
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Posted March 3, 2007
I loved Leather and Lace, and couldn't see how a follow-up could be better. Then I read Lanterns and Lace and realized Mills had more ink in the well. Though after the first two, I expected a good read, I underestimated her ability to delve into the human struggle yet again. Kahlerville's characters come to life again with simple ease, and the questions are finally answered. Mills approaches the wrong choices even Christian people make in times of grief with boldness and style. She twines secrets into storylines with great skill, letting readers glimpse snatches without spoiling the surprise. Mills gives readers a glimpse of suffering and then shows them how to have calm in the midst of the storm without preaching a sermon. Aside from all that serious heaviness, she spins an exciting story with engrossing characters. Bonnie Kahler, the weak, very feminine wife of Ben who was dying in Lanterns and Lace, deals with widowhood badly at first. Neglecting her children and escaping through a 'medicinal' glass of wine at bedtime, she finally comes to the realization that she needs to go back to living. After her first encounter with Travis Whitworth, the new town preacher, she is convinced the beggarly-looking man is a bully and shouldn't be coming to take the place of her minister father. As her out-of-control son reveals the impotence of her grief-ridden parenting, she struggles with how to escape from the situation she's entrenched herself in. Oddly enough, the new preacher offers to help give her son Zach a second chance before dealing with the option of jail or military school. Thrown together for the sake of Zach, Travis and Bonnie find an unexpected attraction for each other, which they struggle to overcome. However, Lester Hillman, the town banker, continues to spin his webs around Kahlerville, trying to bring Bonnie under his control as well as manipulate the town through his charitable giving. His conniving tears down the reputation of nearly everyone Bonnie loves, discrediting the testimony of those who can stop Lester's masquerade as a godly man. When a murder victim shows up, evidence points to Zach and the new preacher. Secrets have to be revealed and chances must be taken for right to prevail. From the first page the reader sees storm clouds rolling in, and it's evident the storm's going to be a doozy. Thunder rumblings and lighning flashes, with occasional drizzles, keep building up anticipation and dread. When it finally breaks, and the skies open up, and the reader is thrilled to be soaked to the skin and hoping another storm is approaching the horizon.
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