romance

YA Review: THE WICKED AWAKENING OF ANNE MERCHANT by Joanna Wiebe

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Last year at this time I read and reviewed THE UNSEEMLY EDUCATION OF ANNE MERCHANT (see review here: https://drbethnolan.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/ya-review-the-unseemly-education-of-anne-merchant-by-joanna-wiebe/).

I liked it, so when the folks at Ben Bella Books offered me the next book in the series, I said yes please!

This novel, book 2 in the trilogy, picks up whether the first one left off. Anne is still fighting for her life, so to speak, and trying to work out her relationship with Ben and save him, too. This installment spends a lot of time giving more background and fleshing out the story of Anne and her family, her powers, etc. To be honest, I didn’t care for this book as much as the first, largely because I felt there was a lot of dialogue. Whenever there was action, though, especially at the end, I could scarcely put it down. I also got confused about what characters were what, given that some used more than one name. And to be honest, this story had a lot more about the demons in it, and demons really aren’t my thing (though I have lots of friends who love paranormal type reading with demons, etc.). I’m more of a ghost or psychic powers person.

Anyway, just wanted to be honest! I still look forward to the next and final book in this series to see how intelligent and fiery Anne will solve her problems!

Thank you for my review copy (I love the cover)!

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: The Daring Ladies of Lowell by Kate Alcott

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Since I have a bit of commute for school pick-up, I’ve been listening to more audiobooks in the car these past few months. I get them from the local library. Recently I listened to “The Daring Ladies of Lowell” by Kate Alcott (author of The Dressmaker – which I also listened to on audio) which is read by Cassandra Campbell.

I live near the Lowell Mills and I have always found their history fascinating. In this novel, Alice Barrow moves to Lowell to work in the mills. She is a fairly typical “mill girl”, having left her family farm for work in the city and some independence. Alice lives in a boarding house (very typical of the time) with several other mill girls. Then one of them is found dead — suicide is suspected but it turns to murder. Alice becomes involved in the trial and in trying to bring her friend’s murderer to justice. Along the way, the girls are fighting for better working conditions and health protection, and Alice finds herself falling in love with the son of the mill owner.

The following contains SPOILERS!

I enjoyed listening to this book. I have to say I was a bit freaked out by the health issues some of the girls had that I was unaware of — coughing up “cotton balls” of lint from breathing it in during production, and eventually having their lungs ruined. That was quite disturbing. Lovey’s murder is also quite disturbing – she is pregnant and the number one suspect is an itinerant minister. Interestingly, this part of the novel was based on the real life murder of a mill girl, and Alcott even used the trial testimony and some real names. (In real life, though, the murder took place in Fall River – still in Massachusetts but not Lowell).

The only thing that didn’t “work” for me in this story was the romance. It seemed fairly improbable that the mill owner’s son would fall in love with a worker (and I don’t mean “lust after” but truly “fall in love”). The class divide was pretty great in those days and the working class was often “invisible” to the wealthy. It was fine; I just had to suspend my disbelief during those scenes!

Here’s a great article from the Globe about the real murder in Massachusetts that this is based on and how Ms. Alcott came to write about it:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2014/04/19/the-real-life-murder-behind-novel-about-lowell-mills/bvMBFwckjExNWEGkS87zvI/story.html

You can see this book on Indie Bound where I am an Affiliate:

Find it at an Indie!

Review: DOWN BY THE RIVER by Lin Stepp

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I received a copy of DOWN BY THE RIVER through Net Galley to review. It looked like a nice story line: widow starts over by taking on a bed and breakfast in the Smoky Mountains. Apparently this is the sixth book in the Smoky Mountain (Christian) series, though I haven’t read any of the others. It can be read on its own.

The story line is fairly straightforward: widowed Grace Conley feels ready to start over. Her children are grown and her former life no longer holds her since her businessman husband passed away. She sells her large house as she is no longer entertaining or helping with his family business, and takes on a beautiful little bed and breakfast in a small town. Grace is learning to rediscover herself and her emotions. There is an interesting cast of characters along the way.

The following contains SPOILERS – beware!

So here’s the thing — I didn’t dislike this book, however, I didn’t really love it. The setting and the characters of Grace and her daughter Margaret and the young twins: yes, I liked them a lot. I liked the underlying Christian themes and messages. Jack grew on me but I found him intolerable at the beginning. (Yes, he changes – predictably – over the course of the book). What I really did not like was the “crazy man” story line. It was odd and disturbing and then suddenly there’s a hasty wrap up of the situation near the end that involves rape, murder, and mental illness. Also the two characters who moved the plot along through their clairvoyance, or whatever you want to call it, bothered me, too. How handy to have a gift that you can know the future and know, according to this story, what God wants from you and what you should do. And there were two characters like this! I don’t know – didn’t work for me.

So – at the end of the day – if I don’t like a book, I don’t finish it and I don’t review it (hence the overwhelming positive “voice” of my blog). I liked it enough to finish it, just not enough to want to gush about it. I would read another one by Ms. Stepp, though, and I do like reading Christian books as they are “clean reads” with positive messages.

Find it at an indie bookstore near you — I am an indie bound affiliate:


Find it at an Indie!

Audiobook Review: A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve (read by Linda Emond)

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Now that fall is firmly here, I like an audio book to listen to as I drive to my children’s school and wait for them at pick up. I found A WEDDING IN DECEMBER at the library. I’ve always been an Anita Shreve fan, and I hadn’t read this one.

In A WEDDING IN DECEMBER, several old high school friends gather for the wedding of Bill and Bridget, who reconnected at their 25 year reunion. Each guest has their own skeletons in the closet and past (as well as present!) issues. Bridget is battling cancer. Bill has left his wife for her. Nora is dealing with widowhood and her feelings for past beau, Harrison. Agnes is the most interesting to me – the single friend who never left their old school and remains there as a history teacher, while writing on the side. These friends (and several more) are haunted by the death of Stephen, one of their own, during their senior year.

There’s a lot going on in this story, and at times I had some difficulty keeping everyone straight. I found Agnes’ story which she was writing, about a doctor during the Halifax disaster of 1917, intriguing and while I could see the parallels to the main story, I did find it jarring to suddenly be in Halifax with a host of other people and their problems.

Anita Shreve does here what she does best, though, which is to make people so very real and alive, that they stay with you long after reading. Linda Emond’s soothing voice adds just the right touch to this narrative.

You can see it online or get yours where I got mine: the library!

Review and Giveaway! A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL by Katie Ganshert

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This summer I received a copy of A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL by Christian romance author Katie Ganshert through Blogging for Books. I had read several of Katie’s other novels and found them well-written and enjoyable. I also follow Katie on facebook, where she seems to be a very nice person!

A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL felt slightly different to me than her previous novels. In this story, Ivy Clark, a young fashion model, comes home to model for her stepmother’s new wedding gown line. Ivy was not a character that I liked at first. She was rude and self-centered and a very high opinion of herself. Her interactions with others showed that she basically used her sex appeal and looks to accomplish whatever she wanted and that underneath she had low (or nonexistent) self-esteem for who she was as a person. Ivy has to work with Davis Knights as her photographer, and right from the start, things are different with him. He doesn’t seem taken in my her flirtatious ways and he asks her about her relationship with God. Will Ivy stay detached and self-centered, or is possible that she can open up her heart to others and to God? You’ll need to read to find out!

I enjoy Katie’s writing and I’ll give her credit for creating a story where at first I could not stand the protagonist, but eventually came to feel sorry for her and then to like her. A BROKEN KIND OF BEAUTIFUL is the perfect title for this story, because beauty after all is only skin deep and the beauty that is found inside is truly the lasting kind.

And I’m hosting a GIVEAWAY, too! Due to a technical error, I received TWO copies of this novel, one which I read and one which I saved to give away to one reader in the USA. Please leave a comment and a way to reach you if you’d like to be entered, and I will use random.org to select a winner. I will mail your book to you via USPS once I contact you for your snail mail address. Entries need to be received by October 10.

Review: THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER by J. P. Francis

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As I enjoy reading WWII genre novels, I requested THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER through Net Galley this summer for my kindle. This novel tells the story of star-crossed lovers: Collie, the major’s daughter in a German POW work camp in New Hampshire, and August, a German POW. As Collie feels herself drawn to the young German soldier, she is torn between her feelings of allegiance to her father (a widow) as well as her country, and her attraction to August. August, in return, is smitten by Collie’s beauty and kindness and determines to defy the camp rules and escape with her to a new life.

I tend to gravitate to WWII stories. I think part of my fascination is that was my parents’ time of early adulthood and it seems so close and yet so far away. Collie and August’s story has more romance in it than history, in my opinion (I tend to prefer the reverse); however, I was fascinated to know that there really was a German POW camp in southern New Hampshire during the war (this is only about an hour from where I live). The POW’s worked at logging in the forests and then were returned to Europe when the war ended (actually, they thought they were headed back to Germany but were sent to Britain instead to help with war clean up). Collie and August’s story has “tragedy” written all over it from the start. It was oddly reminiscent of “Summer of my German Soldier” (but without Kristy McNichol).

There are some subplots happening along the way, too. Two brothers who are extremely different in temperament are wreaking a bit of havoc among the ladies. One falls in love with Collie (and ultimately brings about the climax of the book when he tells her confidential information about the next steps for the prisoners). Collie’s best friend, Estelle, is in a star-crossed relationship herself out in Ohio, as she has fallen in love with a Sikh gentleman. Her choices are very different from Collie’s. All these plots tie up at the end, in just under 400 pages.

If you enjoy historical romance, WWII era, you will probably enjoy THE MAJOR’S DAUGHTER. Thank you, Net Galley and Penguin Group, for my copy!

Review: BLOGGER GIRL by Meredith Schorr

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I recently received a copy of BLOGGER GIRL to review from the publisher. This story is about a twenty-something legal secretary and book blogger, named Kim, who lives in NYC and spends a lot of time worrying about her blog, her hot co-worker, her clothes, and who she will sleep with next. Kim blogs reviews about “chick lit” (I term I admittedly don’t care for) and has a big following. Then her high school nemesis writes a book and asks her to review it. Kim is determined to hate it and trash it on her blog, but to her dismay, she ends up enjoying it and finding it well-written. What is an honest blogger to do?

This was a light and fun read. I wanted to see how Kim would end up – would she post an honest review? Would she end up with Nicholas? Would she ever grow up and be a bit less self-centered and immature? I enjoyed it, though I have to admit that I felt rather “old” reading this book. While I’m not old enough to be Kim’s mother, I felt like I could be. I grew a bit tired of her inner voice rambling on about her short stature and her large chest, what she should wear, how to attract Nicholas, etc etc. I also found it rather fascinating that Kim blogged regularly while at work, something her co-workers and boss not only knew about but seemed to respect – nice work if you can get it! When I was Kim’s age I was in a very different place in my life, so while it was entertaining, I couldn’t truly relate to Kim. Instead I wanted to make her do some community service for those less fortunate in the hopes that she would become less self-absorbed. What I could relate to, though, was Kim’s blogging life. Schorr does a good job in portraying the sometimes thankless but always busy life of a book blogger.

If you enjoy romantic comedy and twenty-something heroines who are still discovering themselves, you should pick up BLOGGER GIRL by Meredith Schorr!

Thank you for my review copy!

YA Review: WATCHED by Cindy M. Hogan

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I recently got this book free for my kindle as it was on sale. WATCHED is a YA suspense novel, telling the story of 15-year-old Christy, who wins a scholarship for a trip to D.C. While there, Christy and her friends witness terrorist activity, and the story becomes a big chase and escape until the end (when we discover that this is the first book in a trilogy).

Here’s the thing: I probably would have loved this book when I was 13. Christy is a smart girl, supposedly quite brilliant, but she is socially awkward. She has two boys attracted to her, for the first time in her life. She is trying to shake off her “really smart and not rich”  persona to blend with her new friends. All the time, however, scary terrorists are looking for her and her friends and the FBI is protecting her. I would have lapped this up as a young teen!

To be honest, in the here and now I found Christy’s story rather boring and far-fetched. Christy’s angst over which boy to like went on for so long that it dragged the book down and bored me. There was a great deal of time and space devoted to “I can’t date until I’m 16 and that’s not until next month. How do I handle my emotions? What shall I do? What shall I do???” The whole terrorist/FBI piece was unbelievable and too incredible to be plausible. Personally, as a parent of two children, if my minor children were involved with terrorist plots etc etc while on an educational trip to DC and I was never told about it or notified?? Well, you get my point. The fact that this is book one in a trilogy made the reading feel prolonged, in my opinion; and I have a personal pet peeve about lack of resolution at the end of a book.

So I finished the book (thus the review), which is a good thing (if I really dislike a book I don’t finish it, and thus don’t review it), but I was rather disappointed. I think my younger self, though, would have looked past the shortcomings I found and enjoyed Christy’s story.

Quick YA Review: WHISPER FALLS by Elizabeth Langston

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Through Net Galley I found this YA title about a teenager who meets up with a mysterious young woman through the curtain of a waterfall one day when he’s out riding his mountain bike.

Mark Lewis is a typical high schooler who is training for a mountain bike competition. One day he comes across an oddly dressed young woman, Susannah, and they become friends. However, Susannah is from 1796 and Mark lives in the present day. The two teens are drawn to each other, and danger mounts for Susannah from her employer. Can Mark cross the barrier of time to save Susannah from her fate?

I really enjoyed this story, and the ending suggests that there will be a sequel. I look forward to more from Ms. Langston!

Thanks, Net Galley and Spencer Hill Press, for my copy!

Review: A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE by Martha Powers

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My new Kindle gives me ads all the time when I turn it on or off. Of course this means I am purchasing WAY more things than I used to for my Kindle! One of these purchases was for A CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE by Martha Powers. In this story, news reporter Clare Prentice discovers after her mother’s death that she is adopted, and she takes on the mission to discover who her biological parents were. She travels to Minnesota supposedly to interview a popular author, but instead opens up an old mystery and starts nosing around to find out about who her birth mother was, how she was murdered, and what happened to her birth father. Of course the real killer is still lurking about, and is not about to let Clare uncover past deeds!

I enjoyed reading this story, though at times I found it a bit improbable. It is described as a cozy mystery romance. It was a fun read and I enjoyed guessing who the killer was. There were a few surprises at the end!

Ms. Powers has written several books and I might just have to look some more up at the library!

You can see this book on Amazon, where I got mine, and where it is currently $3.99: