The Snow Angel

The Snow Angel by Glenn Beck

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Glenn Beck writes another sad and heart-wrenching Christmas story that ends on a note of hope at Christmas Eve. Rachel Price had a lonely childhood, verbally abused by her mother and distanced by a unsure, overworked father. Her kind neighbors, the Wevers, who could see Rachel's sadness, took her under their wing, and gave her new skills, security, and love. But many years later, when Rachel marries, she falls into the same life she led at home. Cyrus is overbearing, possessive, and abusive - verbally and physically. For years, Rachel tries to hide the shame and abuse, lying to herself that she is deserving of such treatment, but when her own honest, young, daughter Lily begins to question the life her family lives - Rachel, with the help of an old friend and a new ally, begins to unravel the web of untruths and insecurities.

This is a gem of a book - it's not your typical happy holiday novel. It deals with real-life issues, scabs, scars and hurting wounds. I got caught up in Beck's Christmas Sweater last year and was hoping this read would be as good or even better - I was not disappointed.



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A Christmas Homecoming

A Christmas Homecoming: A Novel by Anne Perry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I relish Anne Perry's small Christmas novels - this being her ninth release. Her characters always include some of our favorites from her larger novels and I certainly feel like I've stepped back into Victorian times and feel the cold bleakness of winter in Whitby, York.

Caroline and her husband, Joshua, and his acting troupe arrive at the mansion of their benefactor barely ahead of the Christmas snowstorm that locks them down for days. Also arriving on the doorstep in the middle of the terrible storm is a pale, handsome man who strangely resembles one of the characters, Dracula, of the play adapted from Bram Stoker's new novel, that Joshua's group is to practice and perform. When this same man is found dead days later, from a sharpened broomstick driven through his heart, all who inhabit the snow-stormed manor are fearing for their lives. Can Caroline, playing amateur detective, put the clues together and solve the mystery?





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The Next Always

The Next Always by Nora Roberts

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book one of the Inn Boonsboro Trilogy was a great read - especially since the setting is right over the mountain! I knew that Nora Roberts had opened an inn in Boonsboro and after reading The Next Always I'd love to mosey on down the road to take a peek.

The three Montgomery brothers, of the Montgomery Family contractors, are the key characters in this trilogy. Book one focuses on Beckett, architect and youngest brother who has a very busy life restoring the old inn. Back in town and now running the local bookstore, Turn the Page, is Clare Brewster and her three sons. Clare had fallen deeply, madly in love and married, right out of high school, Beckett's friend who had joined the military and died in Iraqi War. Clare doesn't realize that Beckett, after all these years, still carries a torch for her and is also falling for her three ornery, little boys.

Some of the antics in this 300+ novel will make you giggle out loud and I do wonder if there really is a ghost in the Inn Boonsboro who is friendly!



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200 Christmas Recipes: Hamlyn All Color

200 Christmas Recipes: Hamlyn All Color by Hamlyn

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A delicious lil recipe book – a photo for each dish prepared! How about Roast Goose with Spiced Apples (page 36 ) or Moroccan Stuffed Lamb (page 34) or even Traditional Shortbread (page 210)? Even if you don’t plan on cooking any of the delicacies – it’s fun to drool over the full color photos!





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Christmas with Southern Living 2011

Christmas with Southern Living 2011: Savor * Entertain * Decorate * Share by Editors of Southern Living Magazine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Mom and I look forward to cruising the pages of the annual Southern Living Christmas book at this time of the year. Delicious recipes (with photos that make your mouth water), decorating ideas, and ideas for fun crafts. Two of my favorite recipes are Caramel Drop-Banana Bread Trifle Dessert, page 35 and the Sweet Potato Cake with Orange-Cream Cheese Frosting, page 27. Yum!! Take a look and see which recipe is your new fav!



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Lost December

Lost December by Richard Paul Evans

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Luke Crisp is a solid, good guy, close with his father and heir to Crisp's Copy Centers. When his father talks him into continuing his education at a business school across the nation, Luke finds out that most of his new friends like to party and he slowly begins the downhill slide. When one of his best friends, a Christian and a Pastor's son, dies in an accident on graduation night Luke decides to traipse across Europe with the remaining group and live it up while there's still time. When his trust fund runs out, Luke finds out who is real friends are.

Richard Paul Evans is one of my favorite authors and I can always count on him for a good read. Woven into the storyline of this novel is the age old biblical story of the prodigal son. A good story of hope, forgiveness, and unending love.



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Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas

Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas: Crafts, Decorating Tips, and Recipes, 1920s-1960s by Susan Waggoner

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A wonderful look at Christmas over the decades from the 1920s through the 60s. Each decade includes a Quick Craft and a Style File area and step by step instuctions. I enjoyed seeing how the vintage decorations and trees changed throughout the years, especially during times of war. At the end of the book are recipes and images that can be scanned for your own use.



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1225 Christmas Tree Lane

1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Another Christmas goody from Debbie Macomber - this book, number twelve, ties up the Cedar Cove series. I would have enjoyed this book much more if I had read some of her previous books in this particular series. (I hope to catch up on the older books at some point!) Macomber has all her wonderful Cedar Cove characters getting together for the holidays and throws in litter of abandoned, adorable puppies on a Christmas Tree farm owned by Beth Morehouse's to boot.

Other books in this series:
1. 16 Lighthouse Road
2. 204 Rosewood Lane
3. 311 Pelican Court
4. 44 Cranberry Point
5. 50 Harbor Street
6. 6 Rainier Drive
7. 74 Seaside Avenue
8. 8 Sandpiper Way
9. 92 Pacific Boulevard
10. 1022 Evergreen Place
11. 1105 Yakima Street
12. 1225 Christmas Tree Lane



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House of Secrets

The three Cooper sisters have hidden a secret for 15 years, since childhood. If such a secret was exposed, it could change their lives and their fathers - but the time has come for truths to be revealed.

Bailee, 27, has always been a mother hen to her two younger sisters Gina and Piper. She learned early as her mother suffered from depression and mental illness and her father worked constantly. She never learned to make friends since the family moved around the country often and her few playmates were frightened by her mother's outbursts. There were periods in her life that are fuzzy and Bailee is afraid to examine them more closely. When the Cooper sisters' father calls them to return to their childhood home, layers and layers of memories become clear, with frightening results. Can Bailee learn to free herself from guilt and learn to move forward without constant fear?

According to the author of the book, Tracie Peterson, the surgeon general and statistics say mental illness affects approximately one in five people. This book brings to light some of the issues that friends and families dealt with due to a loved one's illness.

The Christmas Note

The Christmas Note by Donna VanLiere

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Another Christmas gem! Loved, loved, loved this book as I do with everything I've read by Donna VanLiere. Small and around 200 pages, it's a quick read and honestly I hated to put it down. (My two dogs were dancing, needing to go outside and just couldn't be put off any longer or I would have read it in one bite...) Written from voice of two very different women who happen to become neighbors, loner Melissa, who still suffers from reliving a very terrible childhood and Gretchen, who suffers from a recent tragedy and has moved with her children to be near her mother. You'll discover a mystery and laugh and cry with both of them as they learn to reach out to each other and the other cast of characters in this little town.



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Remembering Christmas

Remembering Christmas: A Novel by Dan Walsh

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Such a wonderful little warm your heart type of book - great to read as Christmas draws near...

Rick Denton has been on his own since he left home many years before - now living, playing, and working in Charlotte, NC for a CPA firm - and he has no intention on heading home for the holidays until his mother calls saying his stepfather, Art, has collapsed and is not responding. Could Rick please come home to help run their small bookstore? Putting his own playboy life on hold, Rick drives down to Florida, where he meets an amazing cast of characters that frequent the bookstore, including a homeless man named J.D. who hangs out waiting on his daily coffee and Egg McMuffin. Can Rick's hardened heart be softened by the turn of events of a mystery unfolding?



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The Christmas Wedding

The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Gaby is planning a Christmas wedding - her own, but she is the only person who knows who the groom will be! It's a secret! She does have it narrowed down to three men - who have all ask for her hand. It will be Gaby's second marriage, as her first husband died years ago and her family hasn't been together since. She wants all her four children to come home from all parts of the country and she teases them into coming back by sending them five videos. Romantic, sad, mysterious, and funny, this book is a wonderful read as the holidays draw closer.

I usually do not read James Patterson and this little novel is unlike his thrillers - a very, enjoyable read. Down to the very end, when Gaby was waiting up front on her groom - I was still trying to guess which one of her three friends would be the lucky man!



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The Best of Me

The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Dawson & Amanda, two-star crossed sweethearts from high school, reunite when Tuck, an old friend to both passes away leaving instructions for them to carry out his funeral wishes.



As teens their love was doomed, opposites from the beginning - Dawson, poor, with only a renegade father and cousins and Amanda, from a wealthy, snobby family. Drawn together, they form an unbroken bond. But, as Amanda nears college, Dawson is wrongly accused of vehicular manslaughter, spending years behind prison bars. Fleeing the area upon release, he works on an oil rig down the coast. When they meet up almost 30 years later for Tuck’s funeral, sparks fly and memories are revived, even though Amanda is married with children. But, in the background still lurking are Dawson’s sadistic family of criminals bent on destroying both he and Amanda.



This review was difficult for me to write. Although I’ve always loved his writing style, I’m ambivalent on this particular Nicholas Spark novel. I can see that things are becoming a bit cliché even for me and it surprised me to see more violent characters thrown into the soup. Most of Spark’s novels are worth a reread, but not this one for me.





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Solomon's Oak

Solomon's Oak by Jo-Ann Mapson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Solomon's Oak - the words alone invoke strength and character...photographers come from miles away to capture the beauty of the lovely, huge White oak that sits on Solomon's farm in California, where White Oaks should never grow. Glory Solomon, now a widow, owns the farm where once her and her beloved husband took in foster boys and taught them to be kind, responsible men. Now alone with only her horses and dogs, Glory is faced with the dilemma of possibly losing the farm. On top of all this worry and grief, she is ask to foster a teenage girl, angry, broken 14 year old Juniper McGuire with her own passel of problems and Glory has trouble, even under the circumstances, saying no. When a couple approaches her with a crazy idea of hosting a pirate wedding under the famous oak, Glory runs with it - baking, preparing food, and decorating the small chapel her husband had built - all with a pirate theme. Unlucky for a her, a former policeman (with a body and a mind full of pain), Joseph happens to arrive when the "pirates" are at their worst - with guns and swords drawn! On the other hand, lucky for Glory, he also has his camera and is willing to take photos for Glory of the fun, wild wedding. Will Solomon's Oak shelter and mend all three heartbroken souls?

Real life characters with real, gritty life problems. You will cry with Glory, Juniper, and Joseph, but laugh with Glory's zany friend, store owner Lorna.

You may wonder at the beginning to this novel, but loose threads will be tied in the end.



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Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA

Searching for Paradise in Parker, PA by Kris Radish

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Married some almost 30 years, Addy Lipton is re-examining her marriage to Lucky. The same Lucky that has their garage full to the rafters with bowling balls and broken appliances, (Addy calls the Kingdom of Crap) while Addy’s car sits outside. Lucky doesn’t know that Addy dreams of running her Toyota Corolla right through the garage door and out the other side. When a much anticipated vacation doesn’t pan out and Lucky severely injures his back, Addy is thinking of calling it quits. When her wild sister, Hell, and her quirky friends get in on it – it’s men against women and hilarious events happen.



Dangerously Funny. Irreverent . Crazy, zany characters with reminders of how easy it is to slowly allow your marriage, without realizing it, to grow stale and tired.





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The Bird Sisters

The Bird Sisters by Rebecca Rasmussen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Bird Sisters
By Rebecca Rasmussen

Twiss and Milly, quirky spinster sisters in the twilight years of their life, who still live on the home place in Wisconsin and take in injured birds, had their lives change back in 1947. Milly, beautiful and quiet, likes to cook and has begun to fall in love and dreams of a marriage with children. Sarcastic Twiss, younger by two years, has a totally different temperament – she’d rather be outdoors and playing in the dirt. Milly is her mother’s favorite and Twiss – her father’s. When their sickly cousin Bett arrives for a summer visit, the whole family is falling apart, a marriage crumbling, with Milly and Twiss trying their best to fix and patch things between their parents.

Melancholy and sad, this book is a story of a great love between sisters and great sacrifice. Be prepared as the sisters flash back and forth between the present and past. Each chapter slowly reveals the reason why the sisters are alone, except for each other, in the present time.

“Life and death- what paltry words, what tarnished bookends, what unjust summation for drawing breath one moment and failing to release it the next.”
― Rebecca Rasmussen, The Bird Sisters






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The Soldier's Wife

The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Vivienne de la Mare lives a quiet life on the tiny island of Guernsey with her two daughters, teenager Blanche and young, precocious Millie. She also cares for her aging mother in law, who suffers from dementia. Her husband is fighting for the Allies in England. Vivienne is torn between leaving the island before the German occupation to possibly keep her children safe or staying in familiar surroundings and suffering the consequences. When she spots the tiny ship that has been sent to take her family and many of her neighbors to England, Vivienne makes a snap decision to stay. Within days, Germans planes bomb the opposite end of the island and officers move in to occupy the deserted neighboring home. Frightened, Vivienne tries to keep her family quiet and obey the new rules, but at the same time, against her will, she is drawn towards one of the tall, quiet officers - as he, to her as well. As their affair moves forward, Vivienne is placed under immense stress - trying to keep their attraction quiet, concern over her mother-in-law's declining health, her young daughter's talk of ghosts, and the question of involving herself with the starving victims who are fortifying the island. Can regular people become quiet heroes and sacrifice their own wants and desires to help someone in need?





The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was the first book to wake me up to the appeal and beauty of the Channel Islands. The Soldier's Wife seconds my wish to visit the lovely islands of Guernsey and Jersey.



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Home to Woefield

Home to Woefield: A Novel by Susan Juby

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Prudence, quirky city gal, remains super positive when she finds out her late uncle has left her a scrub farm up in Canada. Dreams of beautiful,organic vegetables and clean compost fill her thoughts. Somehow, Prudence sees past the aging derelict of a house, rock filled fields, and the one sheep, only half shaven. With a name like Woefield Farm, it's an uphill battle. She also finds the good in grouchy Earl, her late uncle's banjo playing, cynical foreman and the young neighbor, heavy metal and gossip blogger Seth, who moves in after his mother and new boyfriend kick him out. When 11 year old, too serious Sara and her Poultry Club prize-winning chickens are looking for attention and a home, Woefield Farm takes on another boarder.

Hilarious thoughts and actions take place! Language can be pretty crude and explicit in places.



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The Ballad of Tom Dooley: A Ballad Novel

The Ballad of Tom Dooley: A Novel by Sharyn McCrumb

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Growing up in mountains of Western MD, I’ve listened to and sang the song, “Hang down Your Head Tom Dooley” by the Kingston Trio many times – never knowing there was truth behind the lyrics. What an eye opener to read McCrumb’s historical and fictional retelling of the tale, but with proven evidence of another main character’s involvement and betrayal.



Handsome, former Confederate soldier Tom Dula (dooley) and the lovely, but married Anne Melton had been attracted to each other since their early teens. Anne, even after marriage to the hardworking farmer, James, continued her dalliance with Tom. When her sociopath cousin, Pauline Foster, appears on the scene looking for work and needing doctor’s care for her “pox”, Anne hires her for room, board and little else, working her from sunup to sundown. Little does she know that Pauline, in her jealousy and contained rage, will set Tom and Anne up for the murder of another Foster cousin, Laura, who only wanted to elope and head to Tennessee with her beloved.



Set in Wilkes County, North Carolina, in the hard years following the War Between the States, fascinating, dry and repetitive in places, and narrated by Pauline and Zebulon Vance, lawyer and former governor assigned as pro-bono counsel to Tom Dula – this novel is an eye-opener.





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The Sweetest Thing

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Mary “Dobbs” Dillard and Anne “Perri” Singleton are destined to be great friends, even though their first meeting was not pleasant. Brought together by circumstances during the Great Depression, affluent and socialite Perri still lives in a fairytale world several years after the Black Market crash of 1931. Dobbs’ wealthy Aunt Josie has brought her from her very poor world with her beloved evangelist parents and two sisters in Chicago to Atlanta to attend a prestigious, private school, Washington Seminary. Amidst the fluff of high society, tragedy strikes, and Perri’s father, a banker, takes his own life. Dobbs, who has only known poverty and want, steps in and not only boosters Perri’s spirits but shares her open, exuberant faith and sets out to discover several mysteries in the lovely Atlanta.

Love and loss, faith amidst tragedy, jealousy, abiding friendships, segregation, new beginnings, all have a say in this sweet faith-based historical fiction set during the turbulent times of the Great Depression. Even though bible verses are quoted, the message is never heavy handed. The two main characters are well fleshed out and mature as they learn from each other and I fell in love with the little, outgoing Parthenia.
A bit of history was learned – pop-calling was the rage in the ‘30s, where young men would “pop” in on marriage-aged young ladies, to sit on verandas and drink lemonade and sweet tea during lazy afternoons and evenings.




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The Peach Keeper

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Take a setting in the North Carolina. Throw in a bunch of Southern ladies, an inn, some coffee, a few peaches, a skeleton, a lot of secrets, and some magic and you have The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. Sweet, silly, and sad in some parts, this novel is a juicy peach in itself.

Wild Willa Jackson, (the high school Joker of days gone by) has settled down and laid her pranks to rest. She's an adult now and a legitimate, respectable, boring owner of a sports store. Her family, once part of the socialite scene, but now disgraced has lived for generations in Walls of Water, NC. The once beautiful family home, The Blue Ridge Madam, is now being restored as an inn by perfect in every way Paxton Osgood, Willa's high school arch-nemesis. Oddly enough, Paxon and Willa's grandmothers had been best friends as girls. As the grounds are dug up near the Madam's only peach tree, a skeleton and a suitcase are found. Will more scandal and secrets hidden for 75 years also be brought to light?



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One Summer

One Summer by David Baldacci

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


David Baldacci does a 180 and writes the story of the Armstrong family - Jack, who is dying of a rare form of cancer and only wants to live through Christmas, his devoted wife Lizzie, who is caring for him at home, teenage daughter Mikki, who can't deal with Jack's illness, 12 year old son Cory, and Jack Jr. - still a toddler and unaware of his dad's impending death. As Jack's body continues to weaken, Christmas Eve arrives - but with more tragedy. Lizzie, on a last minute trip in her van to the pharmacy for Jack's meds, is hit and killed when she runs a red light - broadsided by a snowplow. In despair, Jack prepares to die and allows Bonnie, Lizzie's mom, to take his three children and farm them out to different family members. Alone in a hospice unit all Jack has left is his memories, but then the unthinkable happens - a miracle for Jack. He begins to slowly regain his strength. Although the doctors advise Jack that it's just temporary - no one recovers from the unnamed illness - Jack struggles to recover his life and begins by reclaiming his children and moving back to the beloved childhood home of Lizzie's on the ocean.


Labeled sappy by some readers, One Summer is still a good read - an emotional roller coaster and you will cheer for Jack, a veteran of Afghanistan an Iraq. Fans of Nicholas Sparks and Richard Paul Evans will enjoy this novel. Devoted, die hard fans of his Camel Club mystery thrillers may not be so thrilled....



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A Heart Divided

Heart Divided, A: Heart of the Rockies #1 by Kathleen Morgan

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


There's a blood feud between the Caldwells and the Wainwrights over land in the Rockies - land bet and lost in a card game many years ago. Sarah, daughter of the Caldwells and Cord, son of the Wainwrights finally meet in a not so good, painful situation when Cord returns home to help take care of the family ranch and the feud worsens. When Cord puts Sarah under house arrest, anger and revenge turn into interest and attraction. As more and more cattle go missing on the Wainwright farm, more blood is shed and forgiveness seems very remote. How can Cord and Sarah's love remain true and faithful, while all the while their families plot to separate the two?






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October is Family History Month

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


My first read of Sherman Alexie's novels - and a pick for One Maryland, One Book for 2011 is a 100% uplifting read about 14 year old Junior, who lives on the bleak Spokane rez with his alcoholic parents and an older sister who never leaves the basement. Junior, because of his size and health problems, against all odds, somehow still maintains hope and this hope spurns him on to leave his own school to attend an all white high school inconveniently located 22 miles away in a farming community. Junior's "friends" on the rez, shun and bully him even further for leaving, and even his best main man, Rowdy, is out to maim him on the basketball court.

". . . I realized that, sure, Indians were drunk and sad and displaced and crazy and mean, but dang, we knew how to laugh. When it comes to death, we know that laughter and tears are pretty much the same thing."

Although terrible, tragic situations arise, Alexie gets his point across with a sense of humor and hilarious cartoons. Reading it after me is my 15 year old son, who was surprised by how much he enjoyed it. Don't let the blunt language and the real thoughts of a teen boy put you off - this book is a definite winner.

To deepen your reading and knowledge of Sherman Alexie, look more into his background and see the correlation between his life and his novels.



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The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One of my all time favs - The Ranger's Apprentice series crosses almost all ages - juvenile, teen, and adult readers. Again, my 15 year old and I fought over who was going to read it first. Hehehhh, I won! A nice, hefty size, the 10th and last book in the series finishes the story off nicely with several of our favorite characters getting together. Horace is visiting the land of Nihon-Ja, where he and the Emperor develop a close friendship. When the Emperor becomes threatened, Horace extends his stay and promises to protect his mentor - even at the risk of losing his life. Old and fast friends, Rangers Will & Halt, Diplomat Alyss, and Princess Evelyn and a boatload of Scandians travel across the many miles to assist their friend. Lots of exciting military battles and humor liven things up.



Can't wait until movies are made from the Ranger's Apprentice series.



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Finally a Bride

Finally a Bride by Vickie McDonough

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


"Jack" Davis, reporter for the Lookout Ledger, is willing to go to any length to get her story. Didn't she climb up on the mayor's roof in hopes of nabbing the mayor's news? When Noah Jeffers rolls into town, Jack feels as though the new pastor is trying to hide something and for the life of her, she can't put her finger on why he looks so familiar. Unknown to Jack, Noah is biding his time, making restitution for the trouble he caused years ago, but slowly falling in love with the ornery Jack.

Humorous at times, this piece if fiction tells the story of two people trying to put their shame filled past lives back in order by answering to a higher calling.



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Fallen Angels

Gritty. Real. Explicit. Heartrendingly Sad. Terrifying. War.

Richie Perry, a 17 year old Harlem graduate, can't afford college nor has any good job prospects - so he enlists in the Army hearing that the war in Vietnam is ending soon. Although his relationship with his Mom is not good, Perry hates to leave his kid brother. When he arrives in Nam he soon joins a ragtag group of young men, most under the age of 20. At first the heat, bugs, and the monotony set in, then as the skirmishes and deployment begin, things get hot and heavy. Casualties mount, including those in his squad - good men who were in the wrong place, wrong time. Troops hurt and maim, by accident, other squads. Fear is a constant, heavy companion and Perry questions the war and himself. Overriding it all is the question - will he and his buddies make it back to the "world?"


Myers lays Perry thoughts and fears down so easily that it's hard to read without wincing. You can't put down the book, but the pain, confusion, and terror is right there in your face. I had to come up for air every once in awhile and think on the words I just read.....

It is said that in war, no one wins...

On the list of banned books due to "vulgar language, sexual explicitness, or violent imagery that is gratuitously employed."

On Hummingbird Wings

On Hummingbird Wings: A Novel by Lauraine Snelling

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


What else is there to do when your only sister calls saying your mother is dying and you discover your high paying, prestigious job in New York City is lost? Just what Gillian does, rethinks her life and heads home, in this case to California to try and pry her once vibrant, healthy mother out of bed. As Gillian tries to adapt herself to living back in her childhood home, she meets an interesting, handsome man several doors down who has also moved back home to care for his ailing father. Coincidence or fate? Gillian is not so sure she wants to return to NYC and her once hectic, lonely lifestyle.

This novel fits today's lifestyle and economy, where many people are losing their jobs, rethinking their lives and job paths, making difficult decisions, and moving in and caring for aging parents.



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Angel Sister

Angel Sister: A Novel by Ann H. Gabhart

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Merritts live in Rosey Corner, a little town in Kentucky during the Great Depression - a time of great loss. Kate Merritt, the middle daughter of Victor and Nadine, is 14, wise and sensible, but is sensitive to the fact that her father has nightmares from World War I and drinks too much. A huge chasm has developed between him and her steady, hardworking mother. Kate also sees the rift between both of her grandfathers - they are stern town leaders who hold grudges, insist on being heard, and can not be pleased. When Kate finds an orphaned little girl, named Lorena Birdsong, abandoned on the church steps, she wants to save and adopt her as her own sister - but the grandfathers have other plans.

A wonderful, heartwarming and inspirational book with great depth that will uplift you. By the end of the book, you'll wish you didn't have to say goodbye to Kate and her family.



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Folly Beach

Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I admit that I'm a big fan of Dorothea Benton Frank and her lowcountry novels. I love the way her characters talk off the cuff and are a bit zany and this book, even though it begins with a tragic suicide, didn't take long to get me giggling because of the main character's thoughts and antics. This novel is a bit different than her others - interwoven throughout the book is a one woman play featuring DuBose and Dorothy Heyward of Porgy & Bess fame.

Cate Cooper, in the days following her husband, Addison's suicide, is more relieved than saddened. Throw in anger because he left her almost penniless - within hours of the funeral, repo men appear to claim most of her furniture and home. To worsen matters, Cate finds that Addison had been having more than one affair. The only answer is to pack what little she has left and head south to her beloved Aunt Daisy and Folly Beach. When Cate settles into the small, comfy Porgy House her aunt owns, will the spirits of DuBose and Dorothy also console her?





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A Turn in the Road

A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Debbie Macomber always writes a satisfying novel - interesting characters abound in her books. In this one, 3 generations of women hit the roads from Washington state to Florida for a 50th high school reunion, but make many a side-trip along the way and meet several, very interesting men. Along the 3,000 mile journey, antagonism turns into understanding and life altering decisions are made.

I enjoyed the middle aged character of Bethanne and the very difficult decision she had to make - whether to return to her repentant ex-husband, Grant, or to the uncertainty of the new love of her life that has caught her by surprise on a Harley.



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The Help

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I'm afraid my review is not going to do justice to this wonderful novel. I had heard a lot of good things written about The Help by Kathryn Stockett and couldn't wait to read it for myself.

The novel focuses on three women, Aibilene, Minnie, and Skeeter trying to live their very different lives in the turbulent 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. Skeeter who wants to be more than an adornment for a husband, has just graduated from college and wishes to be a writer. Minnie and Aibilene, both maids, work for Skeeter's best friends. The three women form a unlikely alliance, in the the midst of fear and oppression, in hopes of changing Jackson.

I can't wait to see the movie and I hope it does the book justice.



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Learning

Learning by Karen Kingsbury

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The second book in the Bailey Flanigan series, Learning is an another inspirational read. Again, the series continues with the two main characters, Bailey and Cody, moving on and falling in love with others - but still thinking of what might have been. During the course of dancing on Broadway a tragic event happens and Bailey blames herself for not sharing her faith with a cast member. Cody continues the job of teaching his football team to be more of a family and they make great strides on the field. For Cody and Bailey, it is a season of learning.



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The Orchard

The Orchard by Jeffrey Stepakoff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A sweet little story about a determined, workaholic woman and a lonely widower who grows the most aromatic apples. World traveler Grace, who lets nothing stop her from chasing down the finest ingredients in perfumes, falls in love with an apple. Into the mountains of Ellijay, Georgia, she follows her nose to an old fashion, chemical free apple orchard where she finds Dylan and persuades him to allow her to set up her instruments and recreate the wonderful apple flavor. Along the way, Dyland and Grace fall in love, but will they lose it when someone from the past appears?





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Burnt Mountain

Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Thayer, unlike her genteel Southern mother and older sister is a tomboy through and through, especially when she's in her old hut on the riverbank. She connects more with her beloved father, busy headmaster at a boys' school and her grandmother, the lovely matriarch of the family. Several tragedies occur as she grows from childhood into a beautiful young woman herself and Thayer is betrayed by her mother, especially after an event that changes her life forever. After entering college she falls in love with Aengus, a Irish professor, and they make their home back in Atlanta, near Burnt Mountain. But, as Aengus slips more into his Celtic mythology, Thayer feels she will lose him forever.



I usually love Siddons' way of writing. There are a few authors that can make you hear, smell, and taste the characters and settings. This novel, although I enjoyed most it, seemed to fray near the end and I wasn't quite sure how I felt when I closed the pages of the book. Maybe confused?



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Burnt Mountain

Burnt Mountain by Anne Rivers Siddons

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Thayer, unlike her genteel Southern mother and older sister is a tomboy through and through, especially when she's in her old hut on the riverbank. She connects more with her beloved father, busy headmaster at a boys' school and her grandmother, the lovely matriarch of the family. Several tragedies occur as she grows from childhood into a beautiful young woman herself and Thayer is betrayed by her mother, especially after an event that changes her life forever. After entering college she falls in love with Aengus, a Irish professor, and they make their home back in Atlanta, near Burnt Mountain. But, as Aengus slips more into his Celtic mythology, Thayer feels she will lose him forever.



I usually love Siddons' way of writing. There are a few authors that can make you hear, smell, and taste the characters and settings. This novel, although I enjoyed most it, seemed to fray near the end and I wasn't quite sure how I felt when I closed the pages of the book. Maybe confused?



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Leaving by Karen Kingsbury

Leaving by Karen Kingsbury

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I have come to really enjoy Karen Kingsbury's way of making you step back and look at the time of life you are in at the moment, pause to really enjoy and hold the memories dear. We all go through stages in our lives and as the title indicates - this book is all about leaving. Bailey is leaving her childhood behind to audition for a Broadway show and if selected will move to New York City; Cody is leaving for a new job at a high school, farther away from Bailey; Landon is possibly leaving the fire department. Leaving can be a joyous occasion, tempered with fear and tension - or leaving can be devastating and heart-breaking.

The first in the new Bailey Flanigan series, the characters are all familiar, with maybe one or two Kingbury will flesh out in her next book. The only criticism I have is that the Bailey/Cody relationship has been dragged out way too long and needs wrapped up soon.



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Walter Dean Myers

Hearts Aglow & Hope Rekindled

Hearts Aglow by Tracie Peterson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


For book lovers of historical and inspirational romance…

I recently reviewed the first book in this series, Embers of Love, set in the 1880s. The story of the main character, Deborah Vandermark continues with a brutal attack on Sissy - once a slave and now friend of the Vandermark family - and her husband and son. Tension still run deep in this small logging Texan town, not so many years after the War Between the States. With that, hurricanes, arsonists, family responsibilities, and old adversaries threatening to ruin the Vandermarks, Deborah questions her once unwavering faith and her desire to become a physician and wife to Dr. Clayton.

Although the series drags in a few places, and you wonder if Deborah and the Dr. will ever be together, the descriptions of a “genteel” era amidst violence are well written.

Hearts Aglow, Book 2
Hope Rekindled, Book 3
Striking a Match series by Tracie Peterson





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In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne Tuohy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy tell the story, in their own words, of meeting Michael Oher, featured in the wonderful movie "The Blind Side." The couple also talk of their own upbringing, of cheerful giving, and why they feel compelled to look out for other children and teens. Very funny in parts and inspirational, the Tuohy also question why everyone can't do their part and make a difference in someone's life.

Photos included with interludes from their children, Collins, Michael, and Sean Junior, and Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock.



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In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne Tuohy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy tell the story, in their own words, of meeting Michael Oher, featured in the wonderful movie "The Blind Side." The couple also talk of their own upbringing, of cheerful giving, and why they feel compelled to look out for other children and teens. Very funny in parts and inspirational, the Tuohy also question why everyone can't do their part and make a difference in someone's life.

Photos included with interludes from their children, Collins, Michael, and Sean Junior, and Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock.



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Embers of Love

Embers of Love by Tracie Peterson

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The book begins with Deborah Vandermark helping her best friend, Lizzie, ditch her betrothed at the altar in Philadelphia, hop a train and flee to the Vandermark home in the backwoods of Texas. Back home, she begins to help with the family logging business by cleaning up the bookwork and assisting the new doctor in town. When Lizzie's suffragette mother and ex-fiance appear out of the blue to take her home, Deborah's entire family, especially her brother, G.W, work together to keep Lizzie in Texas. Deborah finds out that bookkeeping isn't as interesting as doctoring.


Book 1 in the Striking a Match series.
Historical fiction mixed with romance and inspiration.



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to Win her Heart

To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Levi Grant has paid his debt to society and finished his prison term, but he still carries a mountain of guilt. When he tries to start over as the town blacksmith in Spencer, Texas, Levi remains on his guard - that is, until he meets a pretty and outspoken librarian. Eden has also been on her guard, her ex-fiance jilted her, - trust and integrity is hard to find in this town. As Eden begins to trust the brawny smith, especially when she learns of his love for books, Levi fears his past will undo everything.

A sweet story of historical romance, forgiveness, and hard-won second chances.





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Promises to Keep

Promises to Keep by Ann Tatlock

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


It's the 1960s, the middle of the Cold War and eleven year old Roz's world has been turned upside down. Her mom has left her dad, taking Wally, her teenage brother, baby sister Valerie and Roz to a small town in Illinois, where her Grandpa lives. Even though her father had abused her mother, Roz still wants them back together. When she makes a new friend named Mara, who misses her own father, both plot to get their dads back. The stabilizing force in the middle of all this chaos is wise, old Tillie Monroe, who helped build the house that Roz and her family now occupy, and decides to move right back in and take over.



This is one of the best books I've read, and as a child of the 60's I can relate to so many of the external events. Definitely a feel good book told from the eyes of an eleven year child with wonderful, interesting, lovable characters like Tillie.



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His Other Wife

His Other Wife by Deborah Bedford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Left alone to raise her son Seth, Hilary is still trying to terms with sharing him with her ex-husband Eric, his new wife, Pam and their children. Even though Hilary has raised a very mature young man, she has leaned on him heavily through the years, maybe too much. Now at Seth's graduation, the "new family" all want to appear and share in the fun. When tragedy occurs at a senior party, both families have to learn to work together to help Seth and themselves.



I really enjoyed Bedford's writing style - inspirational, but not too heavy and preachy. Her characters struggle with their faith in God when bad things happen and easily blame each other for the mistakes that have happened, although in the end they realize what they need is to help each other. A very real-life story of today and the world we live in.



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Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I read this as a e-book through my library while I was training on a Barnes and Noble Color Nook. Laurie Halse Anderson is a wonderful author of teen books and this work of fiction deserves 5 stars. I couldn't put it down and worried incessantly about the main character all the way through the book. I've known a few teens who have cut themselves to alleviate emotional and/or physical pain, but this gritty book gave me more insight on that and the everyday stress many of our teens are under.

Lia has an eating disorder, as does Cassie, who at one time was her bestie. They had made a pact years before to be the skinniest girls in the class. Both also had messy family lives. Now grown apart, on the night of her death, Cassie called Lia's cell 33 times - but Lia hadn't answered and now, guilt-ridden, continues the pact of losing weight. Will Lia accept help or spiral down to death like Cassie?



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Once Upon a Time, There was You

Once Upon a Time, There Was You by Elizabeth Berg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Irene and John, never should have gotten married. Now divorced, the only thing they have in common is their beloved 18 year old daughter, Sadie, who is on the verge of going away to college. Living for the most part in California, with a few weeks spent in Minnesota with her Dad, Sadie tells a lie about going rock climbing with friends to her over protective mother - but instead has plans to spend a few days with her boyfriend, Ron. When Ron doesn't arrive on time at the rendezvous spot, Sadie makes a huge mistake and catches a lift with a older, handsome man. In the meantime, Irene has been plagued with doubts about letting Sadie go on her trip, but is told over and over that she has been smothering her daughter. Days later, after filing a missing person report, even the local police station racks it up as just a teenage prank. When Sadie still doesn't come home, Irene finally sounds the alarm and reaches out to John for help.



Elizabeth Berg has a way of reaching into our lives and putting into words how we think and feel. Although this is not my favorite read of hers, I still enjoyed the characters and trying to figure out why John and Irene were married in the first place, with such a cold and tragic background between their childhood lives. I also enjoyed the thoughts of Irene and Sadie as they were both trying to loosen the smothering bond between them.











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All She Ever Wanted

All She Ever Wanted by Lynn Austin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Another book on how secrets and poor choices can affect many generations. Even though the book begins in the present day with secretive Kathleen distraught over her teenage daughter, Joelle, caught shoplifting - it all began in Ireland, with lovely, young Fiona moving to America with her father in a quest for all that they couldn't have back in the green Isles. Fiona's choices affect her son and daughter, Elenore, in turn during the war years, whose bad choices and secrets affect Kathleen - who only wants to forget her shameful childhood years. It's also a book about laying down one's fear, shame, and offering forgiveness.

It was very easy for me to get caught up into the life of each of the female characters and the times they lived in. The ending is a little far-fetched where almost everything seems to be resolved, but all in all, it was very good read.



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The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted

The Provence Cure for the Brokenhearted by Bridget Asher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A lovely little book that tugs on your heartstrings and pulls you into the characters and setting...



A young widow, Heidi, with a son, Abbott, can not move forward after her husband's tragic car accident. Her mother and sister thrust her into as what they describe as a "needed lost summer" at their homeplace in Provence, France in hopes that the magical stone house and countryside will bring her back to life. Heidi also takes her niece, misunderstood 16 year old Charlotte, along with her. The lovely mountains and fresh air surround the threesome with peace and a childhood friend of Heidi's arrives, bringing with him a restlessness for more than just friendship. But, when Abbott disappears and fear returns, Heidi is ready to go back to the US and the continued life of mourning.



I love the characters and the depth of their emotions. Abbott is a smart, sweet character with obsessive compulsive tendencies, that have appeared after his father's death. Heidi is very patient and loving in dealing with this, knowing that Abbott is part of her beloved husband. You feel for Heidi as she tries to paste on a smile and act normal around her friends and family. Don't think this book is all about sadness, because there is a lot of laughter thrown in and romance that lightens up the heavy sadness that permeates the first part of the novel. Oh my goodness, I haven't talked about the descriptions of the delicious food and pastries that is cooked and served....



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The Silver Boat

The Silver Boat: A Novel by Luanne Rice

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Dar McCarthy, the only sister still living on Martha's Vineyard, has gathered her two younger sisters home, Delia and Rory, to close up Daggett's Way, the old beloved family beach house. Desperately trying to hang onto the 15 acre property, all three sisters fly off to Cork, Ireland, remembering their father's insistent story of a land grant given to the McCarthys. Their father had sailed for the emerald isles, many years before on a lovely ship he had built himself, the Irish Darling, promising to return with such evidence. Instead, finally after a safe arrival, the family had never heard from him again. Dar, especially, has always had problems with the abandonment and uses the pain she feels in her illustrating her graphic novels. In the end, after learning the truth about their father, the sisters find that they're really not on the same page about Daggett's Way - they cut the thread that held them together and Dar feels abandoned again, dropping into a deep depression.

Luanne Rice is one of my favorite writers of fiction. She has a way of writing about family relationships, weaving in the same joys and losses that we, the readers, feel in our own lives. To lighten things up a wee bit, there always seems to be a quirky character or two involved.




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The Band Perry

One of my all time favorite new bands - The Band Perry consists of two brothers, Reid & Neil, and sister, Kimberly from Tennessee who harmonize and play guitar, piano, bass, mandolin, accordion, and drums. This CD consists of 11 songs including the number one double platinum hit song: If I Die Young (written by Kimberly) and Hip to My Heart, their first single. This 20 something band writes most of their own music and has a sound all its own.

See their official site: http//www.thebandperry.com/default.aspx and videos on http://www.youtube.com/

Doctor in Petticoats

Doctor in Petticoats by Mary Connealy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


What do you get when you cross one strong-willed, tough, ornery woman with a shell-shocked frightened doctor? Sparks are flying between Beth, a woman who knows how to handle a gun, and war-torn Alex, who has thrown his doctor's bag away forever, after what he's seen and been through. Alex realizes that only Beth can stabilize his thoughts and give him courage, so he proposes an idea, and pops the question! Will Beth agree to marry him out of pity? Will Alex ever practice doctoring again? A humorous, tale of strong women and strong faith.



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The Story of the Pittsburg Steelers (NFL Today)

The Story of the Pittsburgh Steelers by John Nichols

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Even though this is cataloged in our juvenile section - it's a great, concise, little book for anyone who loves football and the Steeler nation. It gives a nice history on the Steelers, coaches and key players throughout the years, retiring the old guard, and great color photos. I went to college in Pittsburgh in 1978-80, fell in love with the city and the Pirates & Steelers and I'm still a big fan. The library also has more books in this series of NFL today - the Ravens, Bears, Giants, Dolphins, Cowboys, Packers, Patriots, Redskins, 49'ers, Eagles, Browns, and the Colts.



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