Effective with this issue, The Pilot's literary coverage moves to Wednesdays as we make cost-effective changes at the paper.

As you will see, there is only one page set aside at this time, but we will try to include as much information as possible.

Stephen Smith and I will alternate our columns in this space. The Sandhills Bestsellers List will now be compiled monthly, and our limerick column, while shortened, will appear on the final Wednesday of each month.

The Mini-Page can be found inside the Sunday Scene section effective Sunday, April 5.

Now, on to reviews.

Star Bright

By Catherine Anderson

Signet, 2009, $7.99

Rainie Hall, with the assistance of a couple of good friends, fakes her death in order to get away from her abusive husband, Peter. Even though it means leaving behind the inheritance that was hers, Rainie, who is trained as an accountant, figures she can get a job of some sort.

The job she finds in the little community of Crystal Falls, Ore., just happens to be the bookkeeper for Parker Harrigan, who owns a horse farm. He can tell pretty quickly that Rainie has probably been abused since he has seen it with his sister, Sam.

Once the entire story is revealed, Parker is determined to be patient and to protect Rainie, no matter what.

A good, fast-paced romance.

The Secret Wedding

By Jo Beverly

Signet, 2009, $7.99

The second installment of the Rakish Trilogy, set in the Regency period, gives readers the story of Christian Hill, who, as a 16-year-old soldier, marries a young girl in order to save her reputation. The marriage is in name only as he is about to leave for Canada. Ten years later, Christian receives a query that leads him to believe that the woman he thought dead is indeed still alive.

He seeks information on the sly, and soon finds himself involved with a woman he thinks is named Kat, but is really the woman he seeks. And for her part, Caro believes him to be simply a member of the Hill family, never suspecting he is really her husband.

An enjoyable historical romance.

For the Love of Pete

By Julia Harper

Grand Central, 2009, $6.99

Dante Torelli is an FBI agent doing double duty. He is trying to protect a witness and his family, and also to investigate a situation taking place in the local FBI office.

When little Pete is snatched away from her family, Dante finds that he must team up with Zoe Adler, the baby's aunt, who is determined not to leave Dante's side until Pete is found.

And Dante figures having Zoe around might be a good idea. It seems that someone is setting him up to take the fall for the deaths of three other agents, not to mention the kidnapping itself.

In spite of its crime wave, this book is filled with humorous characters and situations.

Contact Faye Dasen at fdasen@thepilot.com or 693-2475.