Inventions of the Heart. (The Lumber Baron's Daughters #2) Mary Connealy. 2022. [July] 304 pages. [best guess] [Source: Review copy]
First sentence: "At least you know you can trust me." Michelle Stiles slashed a hand about an inch from Zane Hart's face.
Premise/plot: The Element of Love introduced readers to the plight of the Stiles sisters--Laura, Michelle, and Jilly. These three are on the run from their stepfather. Each sister is seeking to find a good man to marry as quickly as possible. Well, with the exception of Jilly who emphatically states time and time and time again that she will never, ever, ever, ever marry anyone ever. The sisters are still juggling about twelve dangers collectively. The second book, Inventions of the Heart, stars Michelle. She is living with Zane Hart on his ranch--along with half a dozen other people. She's still got her heart set on inventions and mechanics. She's also possibly maybe falling hard for Zane too.
My thoughts: I think authors have three possible speeds--realistic, dramatic, and melodramatic. Mary Connealy almost always packs her "romantic comedies" with melodrama. The problem is that more isn't always better. Sometimes less is better. Especially when it comes to close calls, near misses, and tight squeezes. After about the millionth "dangerous" moment, you start rolling your eyes. Okay, maybe it doesn't take a million close-calls. I feel her books could benefit from a little less conflict. Dial it down a bit. Yes, almost all books require conflict--but it doesn't have to be taken to an extreme so that everything becomes a caricature. Perhaps the melodrama is supposed to be funny???
I find it hard to care about characters when everything is much too much. Characters are what matter most to me when I'm reading. With so much melodrama thrown in "for good measure" I suppose, the characters get buried in the mix.
