Friday, April 26, 2013

Books read in April 2013

55 books read April 2013



A Faded Cottage by Diann Shaddox
What first attracted me to want to read this book was the cover. Love beach scenes.
Quaid Weatherspoon is remembering his days at the beach house during the summer months when he was a teen. He had come across Sandy Jamison. Love hearing all the things about the beach, house and events that took place, very similar to my own upbringing.
Love how the painting means so much to others, after all the years have gone by.
He learns more about the ownership of the cottage as people stop in to visit and reminiscence.
When Sandy visits they do revisit what happened, what split them up and each other differently of the other.
They each have their own secrets, left untold that might make a difference in the here and now...
Love her career choice and the exploration of Turtle Island.
They know why each never made an appearance for their last date that one year. It changed their lives forever.
Love that this bittersweet story is around the Christmas holidays, what a treat!
Love the gifts and the thought he puts into them.
I fell in love with the necklace, so fitting that he had captured the sparkling sand in his paintings.
What a beautiful story. Love how others can use their hands to do their career choice and everything they make turns out so beautiful.




 Summer House by Nancy Thayer
Helen married into the Worth Wheelwright family of Boston and they summered on the island. She was more interested in art galleries.
Now that her kids were grown she's to arrive at the summer house for 2 months.
The kids: Charlotte worked 3 years at the bank and had had enough=she's more into her organic gardening.
Oliver would never work at the bank, more interested in sports and art. He's an architect working in CA.
Heddy is a druggie and alcoholic and the family didn't want her to work in the bank.
She finds another clue to her uneasiness when she hears Worth on the phone with another.
The big family get together is the grandmother's 90th birthday party.
Love mention of the hand knitted birthday gift Nona is given from Helen. The rest of the family have also arrived, including kids in all ages.
Travel descriptions are awesome, some places I've actually been to myself.
What a treasure this book is, all aspects of it kept me from doing my chores as I listened about all members of the family.
Brings this book full circle when she tells her children of some unknown facts...
Love how everyone is so different but they are the same.



Falling for You by  Heather Thurmeier
This story follows Cassidy whose sister entered her into a reality 'the one' tv show where she might find her one man.
It also follows Evan, her personal cameraman for the show. They each find attracted to one another and that's forbidden in the show.
Cassidy learns that her ex boyfriend is 'the one' for this show...
Even listens to how Brad wants to select 3 to leave, one potentially being Cassidy and why and that upsets Evan.
She befriends a few women and they form opinions on who to stay away from as they watch the others. She is enjoying the challenges and can picture Evan in place of Brad...
He finds it very hard to not touch her...
Hot sex adds to this story...
I especially liked the hiking challenge as I also hike and enjoy it.
Things don't go as planned and maybe it's for the best...
Excerpt from Paige's story in Stuck on You is included.





The Blossom Sisters by Fern Michaels
What I like about this book is it's about a male. He was married, and now she's taken everything from him in the divorce.
He relies on his friend and he comes through for him many times over. He attempts to have his grandmother help him but she and his aunts want no part of him. He had chosen his wife over them.
He has to prove himself now to them. Love the work they do at the farm and who the workers are-so refreshing to learn of their career choices.
They do allow Gus to help them in their endeavor and he is on probation. Lots of lawyers and PI's and surveillance from both sides to see who will get what in the settlement.
Lots of secrets up in the attic and things fall apart even more. Everything falls into place to solve the mysteries...
Easy to keep track of the characters and I can't wait for another in the series so I can catch up with them further.



 No Strings Attached Angell, Kate
 This book follows a previous one but things are explained enough that it can be read at any time. The feud continues or has it ended with the marriage: Cates and Saunders.
They drew the line in town, Shaye from the working people part and Trace from the very high class exclusive part of town, they merged and married. On we find his sister Sophie who's not found her niche in life, working and volunteering til she finds something she might want to do with the rest of her life.
She has eyes for the volleyball pros and knows she'll never have one as a boyfriend but also lays eyes on Duane.
The boardwalk is such a lively fun magical place. I could sit nearby and just watch all day long there are so many shops to visit.
The book also follows others who are testing the waters.
Sophie is terrified of the water and with help she might overcome her fears...
Bantering of sex and scenes add to this story.



JACKSON HOLE JOURNEY  by Linda Jacobs
This book is about a family in the wild west and they run a ranch and up against many political things such as land rights and the beginning of the National Park Service.
Love this book for many reasons: the detailed travel descriptions and the historical facts of Yellowstone and Teton Mountains when they were first set up in
the National Park System and the nature all around. Love story on many different counts is fascinating to read. Love the food and how things are prepared in the time of the book.
Like hearing of the family traditions and the family over the decades.  
 Like how Francesa takes control of her life from the beginning and wonder if she will leave to continue onto CA like she has dreams of...or if she will make a decision as to which brother she loves the most...
Terrifying to hear of the earthquakes and what the professionals learn from what they see...
Journal Laura keeps help make you realize not only her political fears but personal family ones.
So much heartache and pain that they have all lived through over the years...


Feyland The Bright Court by Anthea Sharp
Love this book as it's about a sim game. We used to play one that was being run locally and it was a blast. You'd walk around and do certain things
and magic and fighting played a big part of the game. In this story Tam had helped her when the Dark Queen almost killed her-she, Jennet has the scars to prove it
and he's just recently out of the hospital.  Roy and his CEO mother have come to town and he's got a chip implanted as he's one of the viewers-can see into others heads.
Everybody wants to be his best friend and rally around him-almost like he has magic over them...
In some versions of the game things are in the game only, in other versions things that happen in the game are felt in real life. They team up together, Tam and Jennet and find many clues as to what is going on...
Now that they might know the answer they still have to execute their plan of attack...

Love this book so much I just ordered the other 2 in the series.


White Hot by Sandra Brown
She had returned for the funeral of her brother Danny who she knows did not commit suicide. The police also didn't see how he could've done it.
She also discovered Jessica, the woman he had asked to marry from her father.
Sarah finds a lot of clues and with others help is able to discover what really happened.
Sex scenes galore!
Got my copy of this audio book from National Library Service for my BARD(braille audio reading device)

 read 4/19 pub june 18, 2013 sweet salt air by barbara delinsky
What I look for in a new book is travel and hope to learn something new. This book does that and more.
Love that the book starts out and they are talking about knitting intricate Irish patterns. One of my favorite things to do.
Charlotte and Nicole haven't seen one another in 10 years time but have briefly emailed one another. They are meeting on the island to work on an island cookbook together.
That's one of the main reasons I wanted to read this book, the island, the cookbook and I love the author's other writings over the years.
Charlotte is the photographer and interviewer. Nicole is the agriculturist and chef. This may be their last summer on the island as with Nicoles fathers death the estate will be sold...
Loved hearing of how they had met and summered together.
Small community where everybody knows each others business and is there in one's time of need.
Like gradual blend of new characters, where they aren't forced upon you, easy to keep the characters straight.
Love learning all the tidbits of information for the herbs and how to use them and for what reason.
The health of Nicole's husband is something very private although he is a world renown surgeon. She is able to open up to Charlotte and explain how she's coped over the years. She also is ready to leave on the dime to be with him when he calls.
They each still hold close to them secrets that might jeopardize their friendship but treasure what they have had in the past..til Julain's health takes a drastic turn for the worse and Charlotte knows she can help. Everybody has choices and decisions to make and they wish upon the red leaf clover that they selected the right ones.
Recipes and meals talked about are a treasure as you can put them together yourself without the measurements of the ingredients. Wish you could smell while reading about it.
Stumbling blocks are put in place with the recipes...Julian's health and Charlottes love life. Love that her boyfriend is an author as we follow his path to success and failure and doubt..


Bending Towards the Sun Book 2 of the Quilted Heart by Mona Hodgson
1865 and the Civil War has ended and we find Emilie taking college classes, helping with the farm and running the store.
She's friends with one who is going to get married soon and others tease her she will be next to fall in love.
The story also follows Quaid who has returned from the war and his mother keeps him close to the farm making chairs and rockers out of wood.
He enjoys getting out every so often with the freight to drive to the steamboats, etc.
Love hearing how the community works together and how they use their hands to make a living.
Lots of praying at meals, the food sounds so good...
They meet for a feast after the harvest and catch up with one another.
Love that the women meet once a week for quilting and they give details on the squares being sewn. Quaid has permission to transport goods to the store and the college so he can look for Emilie.
He comes from an Irish family and she a German one and her father has told her to stay away from him,  that she can do better than Quaid.
Scriptures are quoted throughout the book when their content is relevant to the subject matter.
Misunderstandings separate them. Love how the quilting reflects what's going on in her life. Tragedy strikes with the fire...
Many other works of the author are shown at the end of the book. What a great story.









Sisters by Danielle Steel
When tragedy strikes the family and the mother is killed and one daughter is left blind the rest of the family rallies around one another.
The father is at a loss in his life and meets up with a woman his daughters ages and they are against it.
Blind woman must attend classes to learn how to live again and she meets many new friends.
The other sisters move in together to watch out for the blind one, giving up some of their lives til she's on her feet.
Loved hearing of the careers the girls have and what sacrifices they make.



French Silk by Sandra Brown
Claire grew up poor and removed from her mothers house. She now with a friend runs a lingerie shop in New Orleans and does
even better with a mail order catalog. There is a stumbling block-the minister, Jackson Wilde who thinks her work is porn and tries to get her shut down.
When he is found dead from his wife, who had spent the previous night with the stepson going over their music, she is accused of his murder as her business name is on the minister's hit list of places to shut down.
There are very fiery hot steamy sex scenes that go along with the story line and as you discover other clues to help solve this murder.
Cassidy is the detective in charge and he's falling for her. Just when you think you know the outcome things change and you think it possibly can't be who it is!


The Best of Us by Sarah Pekkanen
Pauline was so happy to be pulling off her husbands big birthday party. A week in Jamaica for them and his other college friends and their spouses. In total 6 people.
Savannah was to bring Gary but she hadn't told anybody they were getting a divorce. He had found a younger nurse. He was an anesthetist doctor and she sold real estate/houses.
Allie was married with 2 teen kids, everything on an even keel when she wasn't working as a social worker. Her mother and father would watch all the kids. Ryan her husband also worked for the local company, engineer dept.
Tina was the one with 4 kids and her husband, Gio was in the local company in the architecture dept. She just couldn't seem to get things balanced and there was always something to do...
Dwight was the dot com millionaire who was going to be treating them all to whatever their hearts desired in the weeks time.
The house and island are pure paradise. Along with the food and body massages, huge rooms and there are other surprises for the upcoming days of adventure.
Love the detailed descriptions, this would so make such an awesome movie!
Everyone although keeping their most private secrets to themselves are having a wild time of relaxation as they reminiscence about college days and it seems everything is NOT so good in paradise after all....



Killer Honeymoon by G. A. McKevett
Savannah Reid is finally married to Dirk Coulter and they are honeymooning on the island, Santa Tesla in a motel. The next day they get s surprise from John and Ryan and it's the rest of their honeymoon in the lighthouse keepers' cottage.
It's cozy and as they are looking out over the scene she notices a woman running, being chased and as they follow her she's shot at and dies in Savannah's arms in the water. The police on the scene are not on top of things as they walk all over the evidence.
The couple head back to the mainland for their weapons and the rest of the Magnolia Detective Agency-her relatives all agree to go to the island to help investigate the crime.
If anything could go wrong it does and then some. Funny at times and downright hilarious at other times while they are try not to step on one anothers' toes along with the police chief.
Love the story line and can't believe they finally got married! and love the details of the island. What a dream...but can they stay married.
They have many clues to follow up on to solve this one and a super surprise at the very end, touching!



After School Rules (Miss Spider)  by David Kirk
This book I won in a giveaway at Books, Books the Magical Fruit
Http://booksbooksthemagicalfruit.blogspot.com. What I didn't realize
is there are cards at the back, showing the word on one side and a picture on the other side.
As you read along in this very colorful illustrated children's book is that some words are actually
a picture making it so much more easier for the child to read along with you.
It's about spiders and the rules they have after school. One group wanted to play one game, the other game a different game.
They agree to play both and everybody is happy. Great team work.


Joe the monkey learns to share by john lanza.
a book about a monkey who has choices with the money he's earned. he's stumped when it comes to giving his share money away.
he gets others choices and he decides on what to do to help others. one girl, my favorite part saves her share money for yarn and then knits hats for the camel calves. This is one of my many charity things to do locally.
He does figure out what to do when he sees a new thing in the store that he's been wanting. then later he thinks again as to what he should've done...



Home Run by Travis Thrasher
This book is based on a movie that I've never seen but I think the book has a lot more details and feelings described then what you'd get from an onscreen showing.
Cory, the oldest and Clay the youngest are raised in OK and their dad drinks heavily and hopes one day they will hit the baseball he throws at the barn and sometimes them. He has beaten them til Cory is old enough to get away and is able to join a baseball team.
He is a really good hitter and he tips the bottle a lot, just like his father. He has a manager, Helene that gets him out of many scrapes but some things she can't undo and he is forced to pay the price for his own actions.
There was no reason for him to hit the batboy because on his way to 3rd base he neglected to touch it. He ends up back in OK to make amends with Clay and in the Corvette they crash, after he's been drinking all morning. The only way to right this wrong is for him to coach his brother's baseball team.
He's been fined and needs to go on a 12 step program soon as he's also on a 8week suspension from the game.
There are alternating chapters where we learn of how they were raised and berated and the next chapters are about his baseball life with chapter names relating to baseball.
Glad I got this book to read because spring is when I start thinking of baseball, years gone by and marvel at the game playing involved.
Especially like all the baseball technical terminology.
The story also follows Emma who was his high school sweetheart. She did move on and marry another, had a baby and the father died in the war.
All Cory can think about is Emma, he had left her pregnant, avoiding the draft and going to play college baseball instead.
The 12 step program is mandatory meetings at night where there are principles to be learned from the minister.
Emma is hiding secrets and Cory needs to deal with his past first...
 
I received this book from The  Bookclub Network www.bookfun.org via David Cook Publications in exchange for my honest opinion.

my little book about peter rabbit by beatrix potter
classic illustrated children's book about what peter
rabbit does one day when his other bunny family is
searching for berries.


how rocket learned to read by tad hills
this children's book tells how rocket first saw the bird and
she was reading stories. she wants rocket to learn.
he likes the story bout the dog and the missing bone and
he digs under a tree and she doesn't tell them the ending.
When winter came she had to leave to fly south where it is warm.
she left the abc banner there and he learned how to sound out letters and when she came back they could read together.


Puppy's Quest: a fun rhyming ABC adventure by Lily Lexington
Illustrated very colorful children's book that is unlike other ABC books.
This one gives you 4 examples of the letter, 2 objects, 2 animals, vowel or consonant and a sentence.
All the creatures are doing something, very fun book to read. There is so much on each page that you can question the young one about and point to.
Author's other works are highlighted at the end using the same few creatures this book used.



HRH by Danielle Steel
She is raised by her father, the king of their little country closeby to Russia and he's doing a fine job til her teen years and her mother has died.
Her 10 year older brother is a playboy and goes from country to country accumulating women and cars and having fun. She is in prison at the palace but she does visit her wild cousin in England from time to time but her interests are so different than Christians.
She is drilled from birth about duty to the country and people of the country. Her father knows the son will never lead the country and hopes she will some day. She does talk him into letting her help out with children Red Cross events that occur and is brought home a woman from what she experienced.
Rather than going to charity evens, opening hospital wings, etc she'd rather be doing something that will make a difference in her life and she finds it. Helping doctors without borders in SA and she has to take her body guards along and check in from time to time but things change her even further there...
Love all the detailed descriptions of the places she visited.


Charlie Puppy's Busy Day - A Cute Puppy Adventure Book by Preston Gerber
Illustrated colorful children's book showing a puppy and his adventure outside one day.
He plays catch the stick then bumps into a trash can and later he is guarding the chickens from the wolves.
then it is time for bed he is so tired.


playtime rhymes for little people by claire beaton
lots of ryhmes that every child should learn, some
are played with others with hands and other fun childhood songs.



 alex in outer space by chris capps
this book shows how Alex pretends to be in
outer space and the things that happen and the things he sees.
when its dinner time we find out where he really is.



Go Dog Go by PD Easttman
i remember when i was 6 and being able to read this book by myself so i wanted my grandson to be able to do the same thing. he loves books and is always reading them. some i think he's memorized cuz he can't do some of the words. because i sent the book to them i didn't read it. but i do know it's about comparisons. tall/short, wet/not wet, fast/slow, etc the dogs line up for a race to the big tree. it's a really nice surprise when you reach the tree at the end of the race.

One Step Too Far Is running away ever the answer? by Tina Seskis
This book intrigued me from the start. She takes off leaving her kids and husband to start a new life. The book travels back to the past to when they first met and onward.
Learned a lot just from the fact that I've never been in London nor overseas. Interesting to learn about the modes of travel and the apartment setup. This all seems so strange to me.
Never expected the party scenes, name changes, and the drugs and the life is so untypical as to what she had led to then. Chapters alternate between her twin sister and her family and
her husband and her new life. Til you find out why she left it's a big mystery.


The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey
Illustrated colorful children's book is about 5 puppies and they start out digging under a fence and playing near a hill and they stop to count and there are only 4 of them.
there is one that is slow and likes to take his time and he ends up finding trouble but at the end of the day they do not get dessert because their mother told them do not dig under the fence.

   

Starting Now A Blossom Street Novel by Debbie Macomber
Libby has recently lost her job that she worked at. She hadn't brought in any new clients but she kept very busy to keep the ones the agency had.
She had lost her mother when she was 10. When she joins a gym she also looked up another friend she used to stay in contact with and that got her to the French cafe on Blossom Street. Then a stop into the yarn store where she remembered knitting with her mother.
The girls in the back were making preemie caps and I felt a bond as that's what I do for my local hospital, that and booties. Glad she did learn how to make them again and she went with the girls to the hospital to drop them off where they were looking for people to hold and rock the infants on a volunteer basis.
Her husband had wanted kids but she wanted a career first so they divorced.
Love how the older characters are brought up to date with just the briefest of information, doesn't clog up the book.
Dr. Phillip Stone, the heart of stones doctor he's referred to as gives off a rude mood anytime Libby has been around him-at the gym or at the hospital...He's a specialist in heart defects on the very young and he talks to Libby one day asking about her pregnant daughter til she realizes he meant one of the girls that helped her drop off the preemie hats.
How she can approach Lydia at the yarn store about it, especially since it's none of her business and she doesn't know her very well either...
Robin her friend is on a secret mission=-to get the judge to get Libby a job and to go on a date with the judge herself...
I liked the book but did not like the subject of what was going on with the 13 year olds. I know it's an everyday thing but it disgusts me that it occurs.
Surprised there are no patterns with this book.



Legacy by Jayne Ann Krentz
Honor Mayfield has been taken by Con Landry. He owns Legacy and he's about to run in a race.
Granger is in trouble as he is with the loan sharks and other gamblers,
Wated to read this story because it deals with the elite race horse circuit and I like horses but have never ridden one, just fascinated by their storylines.
Her father, now dead had owned the sire of Legacy along with another. She was there to pay off a $5k debet her sister had accumulated with her last boyfriend.
Being the designer she is, she did notice some things had moved a little in her apartment. someone had been there.
Hot steamy sex scenes add to this tale. He meets Adeena, her sister when he spends the night over.
They have more than a physical attraction. Ethan, one of Con's workers gives her a warning about Con and Legacy.
He informs her of who Con really is and he wants revenge for what happened in the past. He's not to know that she knows...
He had no idea how she had found out but he was going to tell her in time.
She intends to use her father's bungalow at the beach to get away from her troubles, when she realizes the stalker is following her again. She is in love with Richard Stoner's son, her father's partner.
And now the horse's stall had green apples that a female had brought in. So many mysteries and they all tie together.
He follows her and they do discover things from the pictures that lead to more clues...
Loved learning about the horse racing circuit and all the treasures along the way that were uncovered.






Crochet One-Skein Wonders
101 Projects from Crocheters around the World by Judith Durant, Edie Eckman
As I've accumulated many balls of yarns in varying weights I thought this would be the perfect book for me to read.
Love knitting for charity and that I can make things fast if they are the smaller projects.
Love how this book is broken up into chapters by the weight of the yarn. I have never seen one like this and it's very helpful when I pull out a ball of sport weight yarn, the ideas I get from the book to make.
Also at the beginning of every chapter, near the ball of yarn that chapter is devoted to, it lists the project names.
Charted directions are great for making the jewelry pieces. The written out directions are also included.
Very elegant stitches, that would also work not only for the scarf they are shown made in, but a baby blanket for the hospital.
Wristers are another favorite of mine to make for the local nursing home. Love the baby afghans the best as that is what I mostly work on for Navy Relief Society.
Elephant bib is so cute! Love how also the outfits are displayed, some hung on a clothesline, so traditional!
Love that there are things to make in this book for every season and for all rooms of the house and for the whole family.
Appendix at the back of the book explains what the chart symbols mean and also the stitches involved. Over 60 designers help create this book. What a treasure!







Topsy-Turvy Inside-Out Knit Toys Magical Two-in-One Reversible Projects by  Susan B. Anderson
Such a cute and useful idea. This book gives you the details and instructions on how to make a stuffed animal with a surprise.
My favorite is the egg that turns into a penguin.
Easy to understand knit directions that explain how to sew the item together so one side will show one face expression and the other side with different arm/leg colors show a different face expression.
Stitch abbreviations are also explained.
Shows some of the more difficult techniques with step by step detailed sections.
12 projects, another favorite would be the snowman that turns into a Christmas tree, then again I like the dog in the doghouse and the butterfly one...
1579654606
 

Ashes of Twilight by Kassy Tayler
Wren is a shiner and her grandfather takes care of her under the dome, under the sewers. The shiners work in the coal mines.
The bluecoats are the guards up in the dome that won't allow anybody to leave. Alex left once and they returned him and burnt him til he died. He did say 'the sky is blue' when Wren saw him.
Pace followed her and now they are both wanted. They share that they each lost a good friend and are now trying to survive and talk about outside the dome.
Death and fight outbreaks occur leaving their destination unknown..
Love learning about the coal mines and all the tips along the way.



Love's Encore by Sandra Brown
Rayburn Prescott hires interior designer Camille.
She is amazed when she meets his son, Zach-who she had met once in Utah skiing after she had graduated from college.
She was to stay at the plantation while it was restored. She never wanted to meet Zach again and wonders if she can do her job with Zach around...
Love detailed descriptions of not only the estate of the driving tours, gardens but the skiing lodge in Utah.
Hot steamy sex scenes add to this story. Zach takes charge when the servants have the day off and he prepares their meals-I was glad to see he didn't rely on them.
Medical emergency, natural disaster and an abrupt wedding really upset the household...


Rekindled by Barbara Delinsky
two books in one:
Flip Side of Yesterday by Billie Douglass  Barbara Delinsky
 Lilac Awakening by Bonnie Drake



Flip Side of Yesterday by Billie Douglass  Barbara Delinsky
Chloe and Russ meeting once again...he's moved into her beach house in Little Compton, RI (a town I'm familiar with and it's surroundings)
Fun to listen to where they go for lunch, mansion for dinner at night and all the descriptions of the sea and sand scenes.
She's an geologist consultant and plans for big communities that will not harm the land. He's into developing land with a bit of regard for the environment.
Hot steamy sex scenes add to this tale.
She doesn't want to take his business offer but she considers it...




Lilac Awakening by Bonnie Drake
She is in Vermont and needs time to think. The perfect setting is the cottage and pure nature all around her.
After 7 years she has lost Jeff and needs time to herself...
During the storm a knock comes and he thinks the cottage is his for the week...
They do not get along at all and they do end talking about their lives, as to why they each want no human contact and want alone time.
After a week she leaves to return to her job in the city as a translator and he has an invite for her to return...
Love learning about maple sugaring, and other tasks where you have to use your hands.


Family Tree by Barbara Delinsky
Dana was pregnant having a dream when her water broke. They were prepared and scared.
Hugh is on top of things and keeps her calm.
She is a designer and has done their own babies room. He's from a rich family.They get a healthy baby but has some features that are from a black family.
They find clues to help them solve the problem of where the black came from in their families...
Her grandmother raised her and runs a yarn shop where Dana and her best friend work designing articles of clothing. They have no idea why the baby looks African American.
Hugh is a lawyer and not only involves his family into paternity DNA tests but he takes on a case which involves an absent father...
Love all the references when it comes to knitting.


Rona is moving to a new city by Inbar Shahar
Illustrated very colorful children's book
Rona's cat Fluffy tried to tell her that her parents were moving the family to the city.
She wished they didn't have to move at all...she cries when they reach the new house.
Fluffy flies with her to where the cat was born at the barn and then she found Rona and her family to live with.
Cat talks her into thinking about all the feelings they will find at this new house.
She realizes it's going to be fun there even making new friends.




Homemade cookie recipes for beginners by Ravi Kishore
Love to bake cookies and specialty desserts and love to experiment.
Includes many all time favorite basic recipes and enhances them with a twist..
Cake mix cookies are fast and very easy for even children to help with.
My first one to try will be fortune cookies. There are so many I will be trying for my family. They look so easy and very colorful.
55 recipes for your enjoyment.  Very few color pictures of the finished product.



Flip Side of Yesterday by Billie Douglass  Barbara Delinsky
Chloe and Russ meeting once again...he's moved into her beach house in Little Compton, RI (a town I'm familiar with and it's surroundings)
Fun to listen to where they go for lunch, mansion for dinner at night and all the descriptions of the sea and sand scenes.
She's an geologist consultant and plans for big communities that will not harm the land. He's into developing land with a bit of regard for the environment.
Hot steamy sex scenes add to this tale.
She doesn't want to take his business offer but she considers it...



One Tree by Marie Tabler
First book in a series about trees. This one is illustrated and colorful. Starts out with a squirrel and he is collecting acorns for the long winter months so he will have food.
Stick is another squirrel but he eats what people feed him at the park-he will have no food in the winter.
An owl lives in the tree the next year and the squirrels are afraid so they go to the park for food.
They know there will be no food but Stick thinks of something he can do and it might solve the problem..
A sample of the next book in the series, The Singing Bobcat is also included.



Four Leaf Luck (Children's Books about Life Lessons - Hard Work)  By Lizzy Anne Reid
Illustrated children's colorful book depicting what happens when a girl finds a four leaf clover.
She is wise when she names her 4 wishes and 3 come true but hers does not. She talks to her mother to find
out why and her mother explains it all to her...hard work.


For My Daughters by Barbara Delinsky
Socialite Virginia St. Clair shows an interest in the gardener, Will Cray as he goes about his work, She's married to Daniel and has a duty to him.
As years go by she sends her 3 girls a letter asking them to help her move into her new house in Maine.
Attorney Carolyn has just finished up a big case and is free to travel.
Annette has 5 children and a loving husband.
Lea's life is full and empty.
Star's Inn is her mothers and wants to spend time with them.
Love the setting and the very detailed descriptions of the waterfront.
Starts out with her interest in the gardener, Will Cray as he goes about his work. She's married to Daniel and has had to leave him.
Intriguing book about friendship and relationships not only between mother and daughters but their love interests.







Playtime Rhymes for Little People by Claire Beaton
Recently I had asked my husband what the rest of the one two buckle my shoe rhyme was.
This book has that and many other ones that I had forgotten about over the years. Now I can share them with my grandson.
Love the ones using your fingers to depict the story: people at the church, the steeple, etc



read 3/20    Wind Chime Point by Sherryl Woods
This family saga concentrates on Gabriella Castle when she finds herself pregnant and without a job. Love that this is a series that just started and it's real easy to follow
all the lives of those in the story without being so confused. Her boyfriend of 5 years is now out of the picture and she's terrified to raise a baby on her own, with no job now.
Emily is back in town for a bit to plan her wedding and Samantha is helping her so they will all get together for more planning.
The story also follows Wade, one of Boone's construction workers that does magic with wood that Gabi had taking a liking to when she was helping with the aftermath of the hurricane damage at her grandmother's restaurant in NC.
Love what the wind chimes have to do with not only the title.
Also Sam's life is in turmoil, her acting career in NY and the girls discuss it and come up with ideas for her to pursue.
One more book in this 3 sisters trilogy set in NC.




Pub Date: Apr 30 2013   The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs 
A really super book to me is one that talks of travel, food and the art of working with ones hands. This book has that and more.
The book starts out with the oldest of the family, Magnus Johnasen runs the apple orchard, Belle Vista in his 80's on the tree ladder when he gets a call on his cell...
Love that there are recipes in this book. Love the nature and especially trees as I come from a family of nursery men.
Tess Delaney works for an auction house in CA and she finds and restores and returns items to their rightful owners.
Love hearing about all the travel in this book to places I've never been.
Dominic Rossi a single dad runs the vineyard among other jobs.
Love hearing details of the traditions to honor those in need. Also the chapters are in the present time but go back so you learn of who the people really are as they themselves grew up.
Love how the apple orchard brings this whole book together and what it stands for.
There are so many other treasures in the book, priceless!
Love that this is just #1 in a new series!







pub 4/30/13   All He Ever Dreamed Shannon Stacey
Joshua Kowalski lived at the Lodge with the housekeeper, Rose, Katies mom. 
Katie Davis was Josh's best friend and she'd never tell him how she really felt about him...
Once the snow came to Maine he'd be busy with the Northern Star Lodge..
but Rose had pneumonia again and hospitalized. The plan is that Katie will move into the lodge to get it ready for the season and the family Christmas holiday where everybody would spend several nights at the lodge and this way be able to keep an eye on her mother's health and get the rooms ready for occupancy..
Rose's plan was going to work but she needed to push them together more...
 Love hearing about the rest of the family as I have read other books in this series. Just a down to earth family...
Book also follows others relationships and love life's.
Others who come to visit with Rose discuss the lodge. The family wants to sell it as everybody has another life outside the lodge, Josh due to his broken leg was the one to run it and he hopes this will be his last season but it's a family decision.
And where does that leave Rose? At her business running the barbershop her father had started.
Hot steamy sex scenes only add to this book. Such choices to make that could turn disastrous in the long run...
 Love this series, can be read as stand alone.






pub 4/30  The Blossom Sisters by Fern Michaels
What I like about this book is it's about a male. He was married, and now she's taken everything from him in the divorce.
He relies on his friend and he comes through for him many times over. He attempts to have his grandmother help him but she and his aunts want no part of him. He had chosen his wife over them.
He has to prove himself now to them. Love the work they do at the farm and who the workers are-so refreshing to learn of their career choices.
They do allow Gus to help them in their endeavor and he is on probation. Lots of lawyers and PI's and surveillance from both sides to see who will get what in the settlement.
Lots of secrets up in the attic and things fall apart even more. Everything falls into place to solve the mysteries...
Easy to keep track of the characters and I can't wait for another in the series so I can catch up with them further.



 A Wedding Transpires on Mackinac Island by Cara Putnam
Alama is back on the island to help run her parents art store since her mother is caring for her father who's had a stroke.
It's been over 11 years and when her brother died she's not been able to make peace with the details. Jonathan lives there and does event planning, works with many committees to get tourists to come to the island.
Never traveled there but have heard many others describe the locale. Seems a very friendly atmosphere and many different types of shops.
She is also a trial lawyer and had just finished a case when in walks the man who got off and buys a $5k painting.
They live next door to one another and share a dock. They each hold many secrets and over time we learn of some of them.
There are many mysteries and some are uncovered as the story goes long. Some she has clues to and must solve herself.
The past she finds clues of what happened the night her brother died. And now she's been volunteered to help the committee and to find the missing $25k. and her mother shows up and she questions her about the paintings that are so unlike her mother's that she leaves the next day.
With Jonathan's help they are able to solve some things and she does turn to God to guide her to do the right thing.
I received this ebook from Barbour Publishing's NetGalley Public Catalog in exchange for an honest review.


 Get Over It by Nikki Carter
I should've probably read the other 5 in this series, but I really liked the story line and cover.
Seems I stepped into a book where there are others in the series? There are a bunch of characters like from another previous book because they are not introduced in this one-like I should know who they are.
Drugs, overdoses, team DeShawn or Team Sam voting, twitter feeds, publicity shots, pregnancies, marriages to stay in the music business and the making/breaking of a music artist and a bit of drama is what this
book is about to me. I can't figure out, today, who's with who and I hope they've made the right choices for their life. And a sorority house that is cheering for a music artist. The next book in the series, Time to Shine has a sample chapter included.

 I received this book from Kennsington Books in exchange for my honest opinion.


 Little Dudes Easy Bake Oven Recipes by Jane Romsey
Ever since Hasbro agreed to make a male and female version of the easy bake oven, I was so happy to learn that
there are recipes for guys to make.  I'm sure the female versions have a lot of pink and purple and frilly things added.
With so many male chefs out there I was so happy to find this book, as the recipes can be made using everyday ingredients and even the sizes we use in our regular ovens-if you don't have an easy bake oven.
Some of the recipes in this book are from a basic cake mix-they give you the
smaller than normal recipe and then by adding an ingredient or two you can make different variations. There are cookies
and so many other recipes for everyday use.



Ten Kittens by C J Smith
Illustrated colorful children's book. Starts out showing 10 kittens and one goes home.
Next page the count is at 9 and one leaves. The book continues til there is just one left.
It can be read in the opposite order and you add a kitten to each page to help a child with counting.



Three wee peas by Laura Yirak
Illustrated very colorful childrens book about counting and peas. I liked the book but it was a bit too short and it shows the daily life of a pea.





 Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version
by Philip Pullman
Classic tales and some very uncommon unknown ones as well.
1. The frog King, The cat and mouse set up house, the boy who left who to find out about the shivers, Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, etc
Like reading about the tales again as an adult. Realize a lot of them are not the
versions I had read as a child. These appear to be more mild and at the end of each one it states what country and who first recited the story to the authors.
Also explains in today's world why this version is preferred, etc.




Wedding to Remember in Charleston, South Carolina by Annalisa Daughety
Jefferson Boudreaux and Summer dated in high school. Their knit circle calls them the 'it' couple.
Problem is she met Luke Nelson who cared for the lawn. They married and were having an anniversary soon.
Ashley Watson works at Summer's wedding business in Charleston.
Summer is an event planner and very busy. Luke works as a park ranger and also plays in a band some nights, bowls and is busy most nights.
Their marriage is on the rocks and then she finds out he used the baby fund money, he doesn't even consider her feelings...
She can't understand why the Lord has let them down. She's got faith, Luke has lost all his with the events that happened in the past several months.
He has problems of his own and opens up to Summer just as the hurricane is heading towards the hotel they are at where she's the wedding planner.
Justin and Ashley are also there and they get to talk about things also..
Love the location and also how both of their sides of the story are told, very fun one to read..

I received this ebook from Barbour Publishing's NetGalley Public Catalog in exchange for an honest review.