Whispers of Fortune by Mary Connealy is a historical novel set in 1875 in California. While the book had a thrilling beginning and a great premise, it failed to capture my attention.

Through the lens of Brody MacKenzie, a doctor who has been searching for his brothers, the author takes the reader on a search for treasure and a search for Brody’s brothers, who keep running away from the orphanage where he eventually finds them.

He meets Ellie Hart and her brother Josh, who have taken the boys in at Two Harts Ranch. When she finds out Brody is a doctor, she tries to convince him to stay, when he tells her repeatedly that he can’t. But his brothers are determined to follow a map in an old journal left by their grandfather to what they are convinced is a treasure and refuse to leave without searching for it.

When Brody puts his foot down, insisting they have to leave, they run away again. Much of the book is then spent on finding this treasure and describing how the journal was found. In fact, the information about the map and the treasure and Brody’s family is repeated so much, I lost interest.

Meanwhile, other side characters were in play. Tilda was looking for the runaway brothers, Thayne and Lock, that she was in charge of on the orphan train. I feel this character could have been left out of the book entirely as her story disrupted the flow of the book.

Amid this, without a hint of attraction between them, Brody suddenly kisses Ellie. This moment in the book was so awkward and unnatural that I thought I’d missed something. After that, any romance between Brody and Ellie seemed forced.

The villain in the story (Loyal) added some much needed excitement toward the end of the book and I appreciated how the author talked about storing up treasure in heaven instead of on earth.

I was disappointed at the abrupt ending because there were so many loose ends not addressed in the book, so it was nice to have the first chapter of the next book follow the epilogue.

I received a complimentary copy courtesy of Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley for my honest review.

We follow the adventures of Lock and Thayne MacKenzie two runaway “orphans “ in Whisper of Fortune. It turns out that they are not really orphans when their brother Brody shows up to claim them the school ran by the Hart family in California. The boys are following their grandfather’s journal to a treasure which they believe they are finally getting close to here at the Hart’s ranch. Ellie Hart refuses to allow Brody to ride away with his brothers until he can prove that he can take care of them. Turns out Brody is a Doctor who finds the Hart’s ranch desperately needs, however Brody has made a commitment to a doctor in Boston who he must go back to help. His brother are less than agreeable to go with him as they believe the treasure is so close. The adventures begin there and it turns out that the boys aren’t the only ones searching for the treasure and that’s where the danger begins. So come along and enjoy the journey to treasure and adventures.
I didn’t give this book a full five stars as I was really confused through my first read through because of some characters form The Lumber Baron’s Daughters series so I had to go back and read the series to get characters straight in my mind. If you haven’t read the series I don’t think you will be confused.
I received a ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Baker House Publishing , however I was not required to leave a review and the content of this review is completely my own personal opinion and views of the book.

Overall rating 3.5 stars. I was really confused on rabbit trail characters who are apparently part of a different series this author has written. That aside the story was very entertaining and the treasure hunting was quite the adventure. Really enjoyed the brother bonds and that the romance was light. I look forward to book 2 coming out later this year.
Thank you netgalley and justreadtours for my ARC, this is my honest review.

A fun start to a new western adventure series! Set in 1874 California, on an unusual ranch with an orphanage and school. A mysterious old journal spurs on a hunt for lost treasure, bringing outlaws and peril to the peaceful homestead.

A cross over of characters from another series--The Lumber Baron's Daughters--this one features other members of the Hart family, and the newly arrived Mackenzie brothers. I liked Brody and his determination to bring his younger brothers home, learning how to be their guardian through trial and error. Ellie is a trooper, sweet but strong in her own way, finding her gifting as she helps out when needed.

The author does a good job of filling in the backstories so it is easy to follow. She has a knack for writing strong women with unique strengths, with just enough peril to make it tense and tempered with a bit of humor. I want to go back now and read the other series because the characters sound quite interesting.

Recommend to teens and older who enjoy a good clean western adventure romance. 4 stars

This is a new to me author. It is a Christian Historical Romance with multiple POVs. Set in 1870 California, we are in gold rush culture. This book had a bit of a slow start for me and was a slow burn romance that went alongside the hero and his brothers searching for a possible family treasure. Intertwined are some hints of suspense. It was a good read. I thought it might’ve been the third in a series but then found out it’s actually the first, some things were mentioned with the heroine’s married siblings and I assumed that it was referring to past books, so this could possibly be a spin-off series? This book may have a positive HEA for our hero and heroine but it doesn’t tie up all the ends. I assume it’ll continue throughout the whole series. I am interested in continuing this series to see how that all resolves.

Whispers of Fortune by Mary Connealy is the great first book in a new historical Western series. The plot is lively, centering around a hunt for hidden treasure in post gold-rush California. The characters are every bit as lively as the plot. Ellie Hart is a Western woman and Brody Mackenzie is from New York, they meet on the Two Hart ranch where Brody hopes to find his missing younger brothers. Conneally does a great job of developing these characters and their families along with a couple of really bad guys. All the plot twists keep the reader guessing. The conclusion while satisfactory, leaves a nice opening for the next story in the series, as not all problems have been solved. This is a great book for readers of clean historical romance. Strongly recommended

This story is a treasure hunt full of twists and turns. It was so fun to follow the MacKenzies on their adventure. I loved revisiting the Hart family from another one of Mary Connealy's series! I was so sad to reach the end of the book and know that I have to wait a few months to read the next installment!

Join another grand adventure from Mary Connealy. I highly recommend this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Whispers of Fortune is the first book in a new historical fiction series from Mary Connealy! Let me start by advising you to read the Lumber Baron's Daughter's series by this author BEFORE you go to this book. My brain was scrambling trying to place the dropping of names and hints of stories that I should know before I went "OHHHH!" and placed the other characters. This book picks up AFTER the conclusion of that series and includes characters briefly mentioned in that first series. The first book in that series is The Element of Love.

Now to this book. This one jumped to a lot of new narratives that kind of through me for a loop. I think maybe when it's in print it will be easier to follow. But because this one sets up a series, you go back and forth between five different characters narratives.

This one was a solid 4 stars. It wasn't AHHHMAZING. It was just a solid read. I actually like some of the author's earlier series more than these last ones. But Maybe that's just me. I feel like these characters are...well I can't even explain it. Shallow? No. Um. I don't know. They just aren't connecting to me lately.

Anyways--this book kicks off the beginning of a big treasure hunt that obviously will continue throughout the series. One thing about all the series she writes, some ends get tied up at the completion of a book while others are left to dangle to the next. :)

I liked the two brothers the best actually. Maybe because I have teenage boys of my own. ;)

3.5 stars. I was just in a hurry to read it because it wasn't just grabbing me or anything. but I'll do 4 stars because I can't do half ones.

*Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of the ARC to read. All opinions are 100% my own.

WHISPERS OF FORTUNE is the first novel in the Golden State Treasure series by MARY CONNEALY. The story takes place at the Two Harts ranch where the Hart family are running a successful school for orphans. Brody MacKenzie arrives at the ranch, after training as a doctor for three years, to find his younger brothers, Lochlan and Thayne, who have run away from the Orphan Train in order to hunt for their grandfather’s treasure, following an ancient map…..
The story is exciting and the characters interesting.
Will Brody and Ellie find true treasure whilst helping the boys with their treasure hunt?
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own