Well-Written and Entertaining
938316
I thoughly enjoyed this book.  Ms. Smallwood has a writing knack that undeniable.  Her research into her stories shows that she does her homework, and the heroine, Lil, in this book, sadly existed way before women's rights and supportive parents.  I don't want to give away the story as some reviewers do, but simply to endorse this author and tell you what wonderful descriptions and research go into her words.  If you love romance as well as westerns, then this is definitely something you will enjoy.  After meeting her parents, I felt so happy that Lil got to meet a set that accepted her as she was and welcomed her with open arms.  What a great contrast.
224334
Very well written.  Interesting characters and plots.  I found this book quite entertaining.
2336028
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Well written and entertaining. It's definitely worth reading. It has rather interesting characters. The plot is definitely interesting.
2484274
The book was well written and was very entertaining while providing amusement and help pass time.
2953827
Well written, entertaining and informative on a complex topic.
3474366
This is an entertaining book worth the time to read. It's well paced, the writing is very good and occasionally stunning. I've never been to Buffalo, but the picture the author draws of the city is vivid and life-like. The characters are mostly well fleshed out and real. As a detective/procedural novel, it's nothing extraordinary, but the writing is so delightful that doesn't matter.

I especially enjoyed the way the author uses read herrings. He sets up an obvious development, at least to me, and then gives it a little twist to go in another direction. It's somewhat like being led down a garden path a getting sucker punched. He does this without any contrivance.

The day after I finished it I realized that much of the plot was pretty unrealistic. I usually notice this early into a novel and don't bother to finish it, but I never considered quitting on Black Irish.

This book is well written and I may read it again. Will be looking for other works by this author.
2743428
Abigail's Revenge is a nicely-written, entertaining book with a curvy heroine and an incredibly faithful hero. If you read for fun and don't tend to be critical of plot realism or character development, I think you'll enjoy this book. I have read several by Pat Ballard, and I find them all affirmative and a pleasant way to spend a couple of hours.

As much as I enjoy her writing, I hope Ms. Ballard will develop and go on to write more believable books.

In Abigail's Revenge, we read about an undernourished young girl who never stuck up for herself being neglected or even mistreated by her father, and then sent to prison for a murder she didn't commit. Somehow, in prison, she eats "heathily" and develops self-esteem and poise far above average, in spite of her very difficult family background. (This doesn't seem to be consistent with the usual impression you have of what happens to people in prison.)

A boy who fell in love with the skinny, unassuming waif is faithfull all the time she is in prison, but never contacts her - until she comes back an entirely different woman and then he declares his love.

The bad guys who had no compunction about murdering her father for some unspecified reason pass up several opportunities to knock off Abigail, and when they finally get their hands on her, find it sufficient to lock her in a room - from which she easily escapes to foil them.

I hope Pat Ballard will go on developing as writer. In the meantime, her curvy female characters provide great role models with their ability to be self-affirming and to withstand and question negative input from other characters.
1342852
Well written and interesting; good characterization.
686205
This book was entertaining and well written.  The Plot moved ahead smoothly with just enough intrigue to keep it interesting.
4772441
This book hooked me from the first few pages.  The writing style is intelligent and at the same time easy to read.  In fact the writing is as enjoyable as the story is entertaining.  The only (very minor) criticism is that the end of the story was a bit predictable. But you gotta read this one to the end.
4938378
I really liked this book.  It was fun to read and well written with good believable characters and interesting premise.
4483749
Two great books for the price of one. I found both to be well written and entertaining. I fell in love with these characters easily since the author did a good job bringing them to life
2377190
I like his style of writing, which is easy to read. The story line flows well and is both informative and entertaining with believable characters. Detective Bernadette is a great lead character who's intuition solves cases and wrecks havoc with her boss. This is a well written engaging story that had me page turning till early hours. Can't wait to get into Lyle's next book.
2231356
I really enjoyed this book - the author did a good job with character building, and story was very entertaining. I highly recommend it!
456652
Found this to be a great and entertaining read. Finished it and bought the second book also. Very well written and enjoyable (very few minor mistakes). The story line and all is what I enjoy.
4955723
This book was a very entertaining easy read. The way the author writes from the two main characters points of view is interesting and it's nice to have a lead character that isn't running a multi million dollar company for once. There are a ton of grammatical errors, but if you can get past that the book is really good. At the end the author acknowledges the fact that there are errors and has since fixed them in more up dated editions. I would definitely recommend this book!
4000965
A wonderful collection of well-written stories, at once entertaining and insightful into human nature. The characters portrayed could as easily be found in my small hometown as in any large city. Mr Moss brings a real sense of humor to his tales and I found myself chuckling frequently. I enjoyed the book immensely.