Calista York is undercover. When she was sent to work on a case in an area where many of her family members live, she could not figure out. How hard could it be to find one woman? Very hard when you have meddling relatives and a need to act opposite of how you are in real life. She definitely confuses Matthew Cook who is trying to start a church for the Joplin area miners. At one point, she is spouting Scripture, then she is entering into places that are not fit for a lady? Is Calista able to solve the case?

This was an original story full of mystery, history and humor. While there were a few uncertain moments, this was not really a suspenseful book. But the reader does try to solve the case. (I figured out parts of the storyline.) I loved the fact that the author included historic episodes into a minor part of the plot. And there were many parts of the story that were laugh out loud funny. (Charades anyone?)

Faith is also an important part of the book. Pastor Matthew wants to make a difference being a part of everyday life with those he is trying to serve. What drives Calista to want to be an operative is because she truly wants to make a difference in the lives of others. This book reminds me of the idea that our deeds need to show our beliefs.

I have not read any books by this author before. I would definitely read more. A big thank you to Bethany House Publishers and to NetGalley for letting me read a copy of this book. All opinions are my own, and the review was my idea.

A cozy historical romance! The author's descriptions and details had me laughing out loud as I followed the preacher man and detective through the journey that ended with an unexpected twist!

Fun and faith-filled:
This was an enjoyable, lighthearted book. Nothing too deep so good if you are just looking for a quick read to entertain and lift your spirits. Whilst there are some serious and sad moments, overall it is a story of hope and redemption.
It was fun seeing Matthew and Calista fall in love even though circumstances often conspired against them, especially as she had to keep her true identity hidden from him for so long. I enjoyed seeing Calista try to make her way as a female Pinkerton agent and I loved her tenacity and spunk! There was a nice faith filled message that I think would resonate with many readers today.
This is the first book in the series and it looks like there could be plenty more crazy times ahead for the residents of Joplin. I look forward to reading all upcoming books by this talented author.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

I loved this book. Calista York is a new Pinkerton operative and she want to succeed and solve her case but she is sent back to the bastion of her family where her grandmother has an eye on everything that is going on and her well meaning cousins, aunts and uncles all keep showing up and throwing a monkey wrench into the works. On top of that a young man named Matthew Cook who came to the area as a Pastor / Missionary to the miners keeps trying to convert and already converted Calista but she can’t blow her cover.

This book had some funny moments, some sad moments, and some annoying moments but it was well researched and a good historical as well as “love story.” I would highly recommend this to other readers.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from NetGalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

Courting Misfortune takes us into the belly of Joplin, Missouri, a town that needs a lot of help and guidance. That is why preacher Matthew Cook has come to town. He has heard of the immorality and wants to offer hope to the miners and the women of questionable reputations.

Calista York comes to Joplin as a Pinkerton agent looking for a missing, kidnapped girl. The girl's picture haunts Calista, but Calista also wants to prove herself a capable agent, as capable as any man. And she needs to work this case on her own. However, Calista's family lives near Joplin and she can't hide from them. I don't even know how to explain her family. They are quite a bunch and bring much needed humor to this story. With a family like that you should never be lonely. I liked them, their oddities, closeness, and camaraderie.

Matthew is drawn to Calista and tries to save her from herself. Calista must continue to act as a ridiculous young lady as she searches out the nightlife for the missing girl, poor Matthew is only trying to protect her. As he also tries to stop a most ridiculous and bordering on illegal if not certainly unethical plan that the children's home has come up with to raise money.

Two people come to Joplin to help others. Both have pure intentions just very different missions. Neither one of them expected to fall in love. This was a fun one. I look forward to more of author Jennings humorous and slightly dangerous stories in the town of Joplin that is in serious need of redemption.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review and all views and opinions are my own.

This is book one in the Joplin Chronicles series, what a great place to start. Calista York comes from a unique, loving and involved family. While she tries to hid her true job, it may be harder than she thinks once she is assigned a job near family. Matthew Cook was a little harder character for me to connect with, but when I did I liked him. This book is full of misunderstanding, mystery, history, family and romance. I look forward to reading book two in this series. I look forward to learning more about the characters that we met in this series.

Undercover Lady!

It is 1898, and Calista lives and breathes to be a Pinkerton agent. But she is still under probation for the job, and must prove herself to become a full-fledged operative. She goes to Joplin, Missouri, undercover, to see if she can find a woman whose last known location was there. The area is notorious for the large number of women working in the world's oldest profession. Is the missing woman part of that, and how can Calista safely infiltrate the operation?

While trying to figure that out, she is sidetracked by her many relatives that live in the area. Will they blow her cover? Can she convince them she is there for something else so she doesn’t have to reveal her true reason for coming?

Calista has many mishaps with her family, along with the new preacher, Matthew, who has set his sights on saving Calista from the bad lifestyle he believes her to be living.

Serious and dangerous situations are paired with some funny episodes that make this an exciting story. Can Calista keep her job as a Pinkerton agent, and, at the same time, have a relationship with Matthew? Will she be able to keep her true identity from him until she solves this case?

The reader will find themselves on the edge of their seat from the tale’s action and thrills, but also laughing at hilarious antics Calista finds herself a part of. Christian faith also plays a part in this book. Fans of well-written, fast-paced stories with a sprinkling of humor, will love this five-star story.

Bethany House Publishers, through NetGalley, has provided Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, Courting Misfortune, for the purpose of review. I have not been compensated in any other manner. All opinions expressed are my own, and I was not required, or influenced, to give anything but an honest appraisal. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

I really enjoyed everything about this book! The cover is beautiful, the story is very well written and hard to put down and the characters are very relatable. This is the first book in the new Joplin Chronicles and it promises to be an exciting series! One of my favorite things about the book was how much each character grew throughout the story. Calista feels like she needs to prove herself and solve this case (she is still on probation). So she will do almost anything to solve this kidnapping and rescue the girl; however, her constant (and inconsistent) lies are getting her into trouble and her family is making it almost impossible for her to do her job. She also wasn’t expecting to meet Matthew.

Matthew knows that God has called him to be a preacher to the mining community in Joplin, MO; however, he didn’t realize how hard it was to actually get people to listen to him. He is a bit naïve, but has a good heart and genuinely cares about the miners and their families. When he keeps bumping into Calista, he knows that God wants him to help her, but how do you help someone who doesn’t want your help?

Overall, I loved everything about his book – especially liked the end (I didn’t see it coming!) This story has so much packed in between it’s covers – a baby raffle (who would think that is a reasonable solution to an orphanage problem!!), hilarious cousins, romance, some laugh out loud moments and even a bit of intrigue. I definitely recommend this book if you like historical romance or if you just want to start a new series that will definitely make you laugh.

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Special thanks to Regina Jennings, Netgalley and Bethany House Publishers for allowing me to read and review this book – all views and opinions are my own

This debut novel in Regina Jennings new series, The Joplin Chronicles, was delightful. I especially enjoyed learning about the background of Joplin, Missouri and it's rough and tumble start. Calista is a probationary Pinkerton agent whose case is to find the kidnapped daughter of a crime boss whose last known whereabouts was Joplin. Calista's bumbles at attempting to find a job in Joplin and to locate the missing daughter lead to hilarious high jinks that kept my interest from start to finish. With twists and turns throughout, along with a budding romance, this well written novel would please historical fiction readers.

** I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions are mine alone. I was not compensated for this review.

Das eBook ist leider defekt. Der Seitenumsprung funktioniert nicht, dann wird oft gar nichts angezeigt, man muss mehrfach hin und her springen, um eine Anzeige zu erhalten und auf jeder Seite sind mehrere Worte irgendwie abgedeckt und nicht sichtbar. So ist das Lesen leider zu mühsam. Ich werde das Buch daher nicht bewerten.

As with another book I read recently, I give this book a 3 1/2, not only a 3. I wish half stars were available. lol

Ok, so I'll be honest here. I'm one of those people who sometimes doesn't catch on right away. lol What that means is, I've been introduced to Calista before! In Serving Up Love, Regina's novella "Intrigue a la Mode" we meet Calista. It was when I was about halfway through Courting Misfortune that I realized the connection. hahahaha

That being said, let's get started with my actual review.

I liked Calista because she's such a determined young lady. Those are the kind of women I like in the stories I read. She wanted to be one of the first women Pinkertons. Getting brought back to where she grew up visiting her grandma and rest of the family, she's not able to stay under the radar as much as she'd like. As much as a Pinkerton needs. Oh my gosh, it was so funny reading how she kept trying to get out of slippery situations with people because she didn't want to seem "obvious" in her job. One of the funniest times is when she's pretending to be a nurse and her "skills" are put to the test! HA!

And then we are introduced to Matthew Cook. He was a pretty likable character who really seemed like the kind of guy who thought he could help save all of Joplin from their wayward behaviors. Unfortunately, he has a "pie in the sky" vision and when it doesn't come to fruition in a rather quicker and easier way discourages him. He does begin to make inroads one person at a time, and truly, isn't that they way things work usually? Calista is his greatest challenge and he can't figure out what is going on with that odd woman. One of the issues I had with him though, was his deep concern about how deceptive Calista is and how he constantly questions her character, but in the next instance he was attracted to her. That didn't make sense to me.

Of course I can't leave out Calista's family in general. Her cousins would make any sane person crazy. Those two have a knack for showing up when they're not needed nor wanted, much to poor Calista's dismay. They tend to wreak havoc, albeit unintentionally, wherever they go.

It was fun having Willow and Graham show up in the book. It was actually a bit of relief - probably for me AND Calista. Sure was nice to have other people who knew that she was working undercover and to give her some support. And their Granny was pretty great, too. What a fun character!

I'm definitely wondering what book 2 might be about. Will it stick with Calista's family or move on to someone else? I couldn't tell by the way the book ended so I'm super curious for the next one!

Wow, what an exciting start to the Joplin Chronicles series. I was very intrigued as I went forth reading this and it was a quick read for me. I have read books about Pinkerton Agents before but not about a woman one and it piqued my interest all the more.
Calista's family is lovely,helpful maybe to the extent of being too helpful but I enjoyed getting to know all of them. Her family would stick by her through the thick and the thin.
I must say I really enjoyed Calista's character, she's just doing what she believes will bring her success for the case, what her heart tells her is the right hing to do even though it may make her seem like not the most likable person. Matthew is spunky and stands up for what he believes in,always looking for the best in a person especially Calista.
I enjoyed the faith filled message in this book as well.
The author uses humor to balance out the story . Fun,entertaining and I really enjoyed the history lesson on Joplin and the mines.
So looking forward to reading more in this series.

Published December 1st 2020 by Bethany House Publishers
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

Courting Misfortune is another delightful story by Regina Jennings. This comes as no surprise to me since I've gotten to know her writing through her Fort Reno Series.

Not only filled with mystery, humor, romance, and quirky characters, it has strong spiritual themes that are prevalent. Matthew is a man on a mission. Literally. God has called him to the ungodly city of Joplin, Missouri, to help turn men from their sinful ways. I loved his strong faith and his desire to follow God's calling even though it appeared his work was unfruitful. His diligence in following the Lord was admirable.

One of my favorite scenes was when Calista, who had a room at a six-story hotel next to the cottage he rented, spied on him when he spent the morning in the garden praying and studying his Bible. I also loved watching him live his faith every day. Willing to step into the shoes of the miners he sought to reach.

Calista also had a calling. Hers was to fight the evil in the world by using her detecting skills as a Pinkerton. She was so delightful! I loved the way she used her seeming innocence to ferret out information. Her secrets were a source of great consternation to Matthew and her family.

I laughed aloud at Calista's cousins, Amos and Masie! I hope that they appear in future stories. Their initial meeting with Matthew was so funny! While there were, in fact, many laugh-out-loud moments, they were well-balanced with the weightier matters of the miners' struggles.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a strong Christian message, you won't want to miss Courting Misfortune.

I always enjoy novels by Regina Jennings. I can always count on her to provide me with a mostly fun read with unique characters, witty dialogue, precarious situations, and of course a potential romance that could have a few hurdles to overcome. Courting Misfortune it all and more.

Calista is living the life she always dreamed of as a Pinkerton detective. At least she hopes that her latest assignment will prove her skills once and for all to the agency. The only problem is that the assignment is in her hometown and it could be well nigh impossible to keep her secrets from the family members she is bound to encounter while there. Not only does she run into several of them rather quickly but she continues to cross paths with one Matthew Cook, a country preacher who feels called to win souls for the Lord in the sinful city of Joplin, Missouri. He is uncertain about what to think of Calista but finds himself drawn to her and to be her protector.

I thoroughly enjoyed this tale and found myself chuckling more than once at the antics of her interfering cousins. The author did a wonderful job describing Joplin’s past and her insight into the lives of the miners and their families was revealing. Home Bible studies and baby raffles do not quite seem to belong in the same story but I loved how everything came together to work out perfectly. Plenty of plot twists and surprises were enough to keep things moving and hold the interest of most any reader.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a touch of humor and a bit of mystery and intrigue topped off with a generous helping of romance, the Courting Misfortune is the perfect book for you.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Bethany House Publishing. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.

Calista York feels a calling to become a Pinkerton agent and help save people. While undercover on a case, she finds herself in a seedy part of town. Matthew Cook is in Joplin trying to save the lost sheep. When he runs into Calista, he gets tangled up in quite a mess.

I loved how unique this story was and that I didn’t know what would happen next. There were a number of things I didn’t see coming.

This book is connected to Graham and Willow’s story in Intrigue a la Mode (Harvey House Brides), but it can be read as a standalone. Intrigue a la Mode is an excellent story, so I suggest reading it. 🙂

Calista has a large family and at the beginning it got a little confusing with all the characters, but they were all different. I enjoyed learning about each family member.

This book was a good lesson in not judging people. You never know what someone else is going through, and you often don’t have the full story.

I enjoyed reading the author’s note at the end and learning about the history and research that went into the writing of this book.

This was a great start to a new and interesting series.

“You’re my heart, and anything that threatens you threatens my future.”

Well, I wanted to like this book. I really did! This is a favorite author, and though this book won’t stop me from reading future novels of hers (it’s the premise, I think, and also the hideous main character), I got to 35% and hit some serious issues that made me to decide not to finish.

Even before that, I had already rated in 3 stars in my head, for the reasons I’ll list before (the ones not related to the Baby Hating). As it is, I realized there was no way I was going to rate it more than 1 star. Therefore, I decided to DNF and spare Goodreads my rating. I won’t be posting this review to Amazon, though I will share it on NetGalley to fulfill my obligations.

The first issues I noticed with this story had to do with Calista. She is so incompetent! And she’s just a frustrating individual.

She says she’s good at making up stories, which is her primary skill, but honestly, she’s all fluff and nonsense. She’s good at making up lies, yes, but not at making people believe them, as literally no one does.

Like, how is this someone I’d want to root for? It’s not. She’s not even vaguely likable, and honestly, since I already find most kidnapping stories frustrating, this one was even more annoying to me since it didn’t actually spend any time dealing with the matter at hand.

It was mostly focused on unrelated things that had nothing to do with the kidnapping story they set up at the beginning. Mostly because Calista seems to have a mild case of ADHD (or probably ADD is more accurate, but I’m not putting that much thought into this).

Also, she’s unarmed?! When she brought this up, I was in shock. She’s wondering around in danger without a gun? In fact, she doesn’t even have a knife! This is pure insanity from every angle.

But none of that is what made me stop reading the book. Like I said, I’d marked it 3 stars mentally, but it seemed like, with Matthew being a pretty decent guy, I thought it might turn into an enjoyable book as it got going.

However, I decided to stop because … I’m too obsessed with babies to care about Calista anymore. Her calous comments drove me nuts, and honestly, since I was already skimming parts at this point, it just wasn’t worth it.

Quote from Calista:
“Winning a baby? Prizes are supposed to be something beneficial, not something that will take all your time, ruin your clothes, and tie you down forever.” “It’s just a prize I wouldn’t want to win. Now, if you’re going to raffle off some kid gloves, or a beaded handbag, then I might buy a ticket.”

Small conversation snippet:
Matthew: “My concerns are over the indignity to the child. People aren’t property. You shouldn’t be able to win one in a raffle.”
Calista: “... this solves several problems simultaneously …”
Matthew: “Morals aren’t just a matter of what’s financially beneficial.”

THANK YOU, Matthew! Thank you for being the only decent, relatable, strong character in this entire book.

Anyways, I just decided not to read any more. I ain’t bein’ in league with no baby-haters. Besides, I’ve got better books to read next!

I loved this one - adorable and enjoyable and easy to read. Humour, heart, courage, naivete, and the balancing of faith and ideals all come together in a charming, sassy, heartwarming novel. No objectionable content - a safe read for everyone.

I received a complimentary copy of the book. Opinions are my own.

I was so excited to find out that Regina Jennings has a new series coming out at the end of this year. I was even more so when I had the opportunity to read the first book from The Joplin Chronicles series, Courting Misfortune. I was not disappointed. What a fun read! I was entertained by the history and mystery, as well as, the laughs. I could not put it down. It is so very good.

I am giving Courting Misfortune a very well deserved five plus stars. I highly recommend it for readers who enjoy clean historical romance. I look forward to the next installment from The Joplin Chronicles series.

I received Courting Misfortune from the author, but was not required to write a reviw. This review is one hundred percent my own honest opinion.

I loved this book! Just when I thought we were nearing the end, it kept going. There was danger, heartfelt human connection and a good picture of the human heart. I loved some of the predicaments that each character found themselves in, this is not a normal storyline!

This book was so fun to read! I enjoyed watching Calista try to find a balance between being herself and being a Pinkerton. The best operatives seem to have a little bit of themselves mixed in to their disguises, but when Calista is surrounded by her big and boisterous family the lines tend to get even more blurred. I loved hanging out with her unique family. Far from being a society lady like her, they tended to be blunt and truthful to a fault. I just couldn’t get enough of them. Calista and Matthew shared a great connection, and I enjoyed watching their chemistry. Seeing a seedier side of town was a unique adventure, and I could easily imagine a woman getting herself in way over her head. I loved seeing Matthew as a pastor and his heart to help those around him. I could picture his outrage about the “baby raffle” and couldn’t imagine someone actually doing that! I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Historical Romance. I received a copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers and was in no way forced to post a review. All opinions expressed are my own.