The Good Dream

The Good Dream by Donna VanLiere
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What happens when you're just an independent, 30something, according-to-the-town spinster, who goes against the naysayers to save a poor, abused little boy from the hills? Lonely since the death of her beloved mother, Ivorie Walker is just putting one foot in front of the other. Doing her daily chores, milking the cow, weeding the garden, canning the vegetables, Ivorie's life is just an empty routine rut. Other than her dog Sally, her brother Henry, and his wife Loretta, there's no family nearby. When a dirty faced young feller gets caught stealing tomatoes in her garden, Ivorie's life begins to change in unusual, courageous ways.

I have loved reading all of VanLiere's Christmas books and was excited to see she had written a full length novel. This book is so uplifting and moving - you'll fall in love with the main characters.

One of favorite quotes from Ivorie: There comes a time when you don't know what you're capable of anymore. Looking back, say five or even two years ago, you can remember what you were capable of then - how you thought, what you did, who you loved, who people said you were. Then something happens and takes that away; the basket of good intentions you've been toting around, the trunk of dreams you've been pulling behind you - all of it is gone in an instant, and it's just you, naked, bare, exposed.


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A Place in the Country

A Place in the Country by Elizabeth Adler
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Caroline Evans, along with her very unhappy fifteen year old daughter, Issy, have high-tailed it out of a very comfortable life in Singapore. Her once happy marriage had turned into shambles when she found her husband, James, cheating with another woman. Without a pre-nup and any money except for the little bit that James inconsistently sends for Issy, things are going downhill fast. Tired of their tiny rented London flat, Caroline and Issy head for the Cotswolds for the weekend, and stumble upon an old country barn along a lazy river for sale.

Rather predictable, cheating husband, grouchy teen, and men who swoop in to help, especially financially, A Place in the Country is still a fun read. Throw in a murder and you have the mystery....

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Summer Breeze

Summer Breeze by Nancy Thayer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Three women, with common quandaries, move to beautiful Dragonfly Lake, surrounded by woodland in the Berkshires. For Bella, it's just a move back home - it's where she grew up surrounded by family. Her Mom unfortunately fell from a ladder, breaking her leg, so Bella gave up her teaching job in Texas and hurried home to run her Mom's shop. Natalie is house-sitting for her aunt and hoping the quiet summer will help her return to the passion of painting. Morgan, a hazardous materials expert, and married to a brilliant young man climbing the ladder at Bio-Green Industries , at first is happy to stay home and care for their young son, Petey, only a year old. As the families get to know each other and connect on deeper levels, the summer moves on, old romances grow deeper and new love begins around the lovely old lake.

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Summerland

Summerland: A Novel by Elin Hilderbrand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nantucket, the lovely little island where people flock to for carefree vacations, is also the home to many year-round islanders - retirees, working class stiffs, and kids who attend the Nantucket school system. The 17 year old twins, Penny and Hobby Alistair, are juniors at Nantucket High, soon to be seniors when Fall rolls around. But Penny, the lovely girl with a gifted voice will never see her senior graduation and Hobby, the talented athlete, will never play football again after the horrible car accident following the senior party on graduation night. The island mourns the horrible loss of one of their own and looks for clues and causes.

One of our greatest fears is to lose a child in a car accident. Prom night and graduation parties roll around every year, and which one of us as parents doesn't worry until we know our teens are safe at home? The novel also looks into the secrets teens hide that we do not see or sometimes, don't want to see.

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A Summer in Europe

A Summer In Europe by Marilyn Brant
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Gwendolyn's aunt Beatrice, at 67, had more fun with her S& M Club (sudoku and mah-jongg)in one day than Gwen did in a year, and she was only 30. Gwen loves stability, reliability, and structure - in other words boring according to Aunt Beatrice. When Gwen's boyfriend of two years gifts her with earrings instead of the engagement ring she so desires, Auntie offers her a frolicking five week trip through Europe with her S&M friends and the fun begins. Although it takes awhile Gwen finally succumbs to the allure of the beauty around her - Rome, Capri, Budapest, and Marseilles and two handsome brothers named Emerson and Thoreau.

As I have never been to Europe, it really was enjoyable to immerse myself into the descriptions of the lovely sights, sounds, and taste of the cities and countryside visited by Gwen and her friends. Ok, I'm up to a trip, who's with me?

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This Bright River

This Bright River: A Novel by Patrick Somerville
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Ben Hanson has made a few mistakes - well maybe more than a few - so he hesitantly takes the offer to head home to St. Helens, Wisconsin (where everyone has come up with their own story of why Ben went to jail)and clean up his favorite uncle Denny and cousin, Wayne's house, recently vandalized, to put on the market. Lauren Shehan, an classmate of Ben's, has headed home to St. Helens as well - hiding from the many tragic events in her past. When the two finally meet up again, Ben is trying to solve the mystery surrounding his cousin, Wayne's death - they are slowly, awkwardly, drawn to each other in their loneliness and need for love and understanding.

Right of the start the prologue pulled me in - there are places where the author rambles and weaves a bit before getting back on track and a few bogs, but overall you'll find yourself rooting for the two protagonists, hoping they work through their own private misery and move toward each other. A deep, moving story with many layers..

Favorite quote: "I hadn't seen her in almost five years. Such an extremely sad number, thinking it, and there was a time when such gaps within the family would have been impossible. Yet it happened, and I imagine it happens to a lot of families. You look up and half a decade is gone. The people you loved - not just that, but the people who were the first objects of your love, the people through whom you learned love - are no longer a part of your life."

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